


Home

by Thebrahbecks



Category: Video Blogging & YouTube RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Phanfiction, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 07:17:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1596278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thebrahbecks/pseuds/Thebrahbecks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The new world" started when a pill was passed out universally that was supposedly supposed to replace all needed vaccinations. It was a bit expensive, but it had undergone testing and nothing seemed to be the matter. It would be the cure to many problems. But there was a flaw, something that nobody really understood. Scientists had said that the pill had chemicals that altered people’s cells and DNA but mended it back together so that nothing was missing. People got extra additions to their cells, and nothing bad really happened, but the only thing that did happen was that some people got their DNA altered so that their skin was a bit darker or something, but some people got it altered to the point that they had ears sprouting from their head and tails growing from the end of their spinal cord. 'Home' is a fic about a young neko boy, Phil, who is abandoned by his mother, trying to find a home somewhere. Dan had never really met many neko people. Vampires, like him, and regular humans, they were the people that dominated their rich city. How will they get along when Dan’s father takes Phil in from the streets?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

In a world full of nekos and vampires, the last thing Phil had been concerned with was being abandoned by his mother. But as his ears pressed into his hair with fear and he shook from the cold, he realized he was alone. He sat on the side of the street, his tail by his side. The only thing that kept him warm at the time. He soon passed out, either from the cold or hunger. He awoke in a strange place, the only thing he knew was the smell. He was in a vampire’s home. He whimpered and he curled up with himself on the floor under a blanket. He had no idea where he was or where the vampires he smelled were until a tall pale male came into the room he was in. He had dark brown hair and a hint of brown behind his reddish eyes.

 

Dan sighed as he walked into his living room and started looking for his sketchpad. His eyes widened when he heard a noise behind him and spun around, seeing a boy that looked a little younger than himself curled up in the corner. He had dark black hair and cat ears and a thin tail that was frozen midair, and he could feel the boy’s sharp cerulean eyes trained on him, cold with fear. The brunette sighed again, he didn’t really like it when his family brought in random nekos without even telling him. “Father?” he yelled, directing his voice to the upper level of their residence. “Who’s this?”

Phil gripped the blanket, he wasn’t common with vampires. His mother wouldn’t let him go near any. His ears were pressed to the top of his head when the vampire started yelling. He heard someone coming down stairs and into the room. “Oh, he’s awake. This boy was left on the side of the rode, I couldn’t let him freeze to death out there. I’m not sure what his name is, he was passed out when I found him,” the man said, then looked at Phil. “What’s your name?” he said in a gentle tone.

"P-Phil," he stuttered, still scared out of his mind.

 

Dan rolled his eyes at the shaky boy called Phil. He looked scared out of his mind, really, you’d think he’d never seen a vampire before. “Dan, introduce yourself,” his father murmured, glaring at him a bit but then smiling at the neko kid.

“I’m Dan,” he said exasperatedly. “Have any of you seen my sketchbook, I mean, okay, you can stay or whatever, but if you stole my drawing notebook-“

 

Phil shook his head, “I-I didn’t,” he said, scared that if he thought Phil did he’d get hurt or something. His mother has told him all vampires are dangerous, so he was on edge. He tried taking deep breaths to settle down, if then wanted to kill him they would have already right? “I haven’t seen it,” he said, of course he hasn’t he only just woke up. He just wanted to go home, if it was even his home anymore.

 

Dan heaved a sigh and started to turn around to go back upstairs because this was all so stupid and useless, but he felt a hand tugging him back on his shoulder. His father was making him stay to talk to the kid? “Do you have someplace we can take you, a parent or a sibling?” his dad asked gently. Of course he was being gentle, the kid’s eyes were practically bugging out of his head and he looked like someone had set him on vibrate. Dan crossed his arms on his chest and waited impatiently for an answer.

 

Phil thought for a moment, he was almost sure his mother left him for a reason. And to show up back home would be the worst thing he could do, he didn’t know where he would go. Maybe he’ll have to be homeless. He shook his head, he already felt weird being here. Already someone doesn’t like him, Dan was it. Phil could feel it. He doesn’t know when he should leave, on top of being scared now he has to worry about where he’s going to sleep.

 

Dan saw the boy slowly shake his head and felt a bit sorry. Only a bit. Thousands of people got rejected because they were an odd offspring, often kids were dropped off in some sketchy corner of their town to either make the best of it or die. Usually it was dying, and that’s why ‘the new world’ had to have sweepers who sweeped the roads, not just for leaves during autumn. ‘The new world’ started when a pill was passed out universally that was supposedly supposed to replace all needed vaccinations. It was a bit expensive, but it had undergone testing and nothing seemed to be the matter. It would be the cure to many problems. But there was a flaw, something that nobody really understood. Scientists had said that the pill had chemicals that altered people’s cells and DNA but mended it back together so that nothing was missing. People got extra additions to their cells, and nothing bad really happened, but the only thing that did happen was that some people got their DNA altered so that their skin was a bit darker or something, but some people got it altered to the point that they had ears sprouting from their head and tails growing from the end of their spinal cord. Dan brushed his hair behind his ear, remembering how sometimes the cell alteration skipped a generation. Was this kid, Phil, abandoned because of how he resembled a cat?

 

Phil dropped his head, he knew somewhere this was going to happen. His brother didn’t have what he had, neither did his mum. He was the odd one, the one not wanted. He shouldn’t be this upset. He didn’t feel right being here, like he should have been left out there. “Where am I?” he asked, wanting to know how far away he was from his own house just in case he had nowhere else and he just went back. Which he would just be left again, but it didn’t really matter. As long as he had somewhere to sleep. He should have realized that he was going to be left, his mother normally doesn’t ask him to come with her for the shopping. He’s such an idiot.

 

"Well, you’re in Manchester, but more specifically, the Howell mansion," his father said warmly, holding his hand out for the small boy. Phil hesitantly took Dan’s father’s hand and was pulled to his feet next to Dan, the brunette staring at his feet. "Are you sure that you’ve got nowhere to go? I mean, we’ve got rooms, of course we’ve got rooms, but please don’t hesitate to give us an address to take you somewhere. Daniel can drop you off, isn’t that right, Daniel?" Dan flinched at the use of his full name used to talk to Phil, but nodded nonetheless. He had just gotten his driver’s license and his dad had this huge garage of cars, and he could drive any one of them if he wanted. He didn’t really prefer driving, though, often he just liked to walk through the woods and take the long way. Sometimes he’d chase down a deer or something and kill it just for fun, come back for it later, maybe. The perpetual cold weather of modern Manchester meant that if you left anything that didn’t have a heart to pump blood and keep warm, it’d freeze. Dan’s mind clouded with memories before he remembered he was in the middle of a conversation and nodded again.

 

Phil shook his head, “No, I don’t have anywhere,” he said, rubbing his arm. “It’s really nice you want to give me a place to stay but I’ll be okay,” he said, knowing he’d be scared to sleep here and also he just couldn’t do it. He knew he didn’t belong there. He noticed that Dan started staring off, Phil was wondering what he was thinking about. “Thank you for taking me in, but I really can’t stay,” he said, Phil saw how nice the father was. And he could see he should just suck it up and stay here, but he couldn’t. He didn’t belong, he’s sure he’ll find somewhere and if he didn’t then he’ll find an ally or something. He knew he was the freak being treated nicely out of pity.

 

Dan clenched his eyes together at the boy’s words and before he knew it there was words flowing out of his mouth. “You’ve been given a place to stay, shelter from the cold, an offer of our food rations and hospitality and you’re still not going to stay?” His words sounded harsh, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. This kid was being too naive, if he thought he could stand a week without extra help in the cold winter, he was wrong, so wrong. Phil’s eyes snapped over to him and they made eye contact before Dan’s father hit him by the shoulder and Dan’s eyes scanned down to his feet again.

"What Daniel meant, was that you really aren’t causing any harm by staying here. And I know that my and my son’s eyes look a bit, scary, but trust me, we’re safe. It’s only the really young ones who get the instinct to kill, if you’re not that educated about vampires. And we keep the kids in the nursery, and you won’t be going there," Dan’s father pressed on friendly, smiling a bit which made his fangs that had been filed down but still looked noticeable.

 

Phil flinched when Dan spoke, what did Phil do? He felt like the boy would have been happier that he denied. But then he listened to Dan’s father, he really wasn’t that educated on vampires. And he trusted the mans words. He nodded, “If you’re sure it’s not a bother,” he said quieter, choosing his words more carefully now because he didn’t want Dan to get mad at him again. He was still on his nerves but he trusted that they were safe, they didn’t seem like they were out to kill him.

 

Dan’s father beamed at the response of the kid and rested a pale hand lightly on Phil’s shoulder. “Okay, then, Daniel, show Phil the guest room next to yours, alright? That way if he needs anything you can show him or something,” his father continued, “and be nice to Phil. He’s going to stay for as long as he needs, okay?” his voice changed to firm, and Dan knew that the firmness was directed at him.

He heaved a sigh over the whole ordeal and nodded, turning out of the room to lead Phil up the winding wooden staircase. Once they were out of hearing distance of Dan’s father, he said, “Thank God that’s over. Oh, and my floor is the third one. The first floor is family stuff; there’s the kitchen, the cook’s passage, the ‘family’ room, the TV room, the dining room and the ballroom. Second floor’s the maids and cook’s quarters. Third floor’s mine and-” he paused and cleared his throat. “Third floor’s ours, and fourth floor’s my little sister’s and the nursery, fifth floor’s my dad’s floor and yeah,” he spoke somberly. Dan wasn’t sure if he was okay with Phil being there or not, he seemed pretty quiet so he guessed that he wouldn’t be that much of a bother.

 

Phil listened to Dan explaining the floors, he nodded. Dan didn’t seem to like him really, so Phil kept quiet and just followed him up the stairs to where he’ll be staying. He was still unsure about staying, but he already agreed so he couldn’t back out. By now his ears were not pressed to his head and his tail was not wrapped around him in fear. He noticed how Dan was going to say someone else on the third floor with him but stopped, Phil wondered what that was about but stayed quiet. He didn’t want Dan to yell at him or something.

 

They climbed the stairs in silence until the third floor, and Dan smirked a bit as Phil let out small pants of breath. Dan had been using that staircase for his whole life but Phil had only just arrived, though he assumed that Phil would get used to the heights of their mansion. He had a feeling that he’d be here for a long time, whether Dan liked it or not. They crossed the hallway and Dan opened a wooden door with a gold labeling on it. It had been engraved, Guest Quarters. “This is where you’ll be staying. Over there’s a closet, but it’s empty and there’s a fireplace over there-automatic, just flip the switch- and there’s a bathroom connected to the room over there,” Dan said, pointing as he spoke and his fangs being displayed as he talked.

Phil looked where Dan pointed, amazed by the room. It was ten times better then his room back home. “This is amazing,” he muttered to himself, turning to see Dan point out the bathroom and slightly jumped at the fangs. To be honest, it scared Phil, he just wasn’t used to it. He was raised being taught they were the monsters under the bed and the things to watch out for and now he’s living in a home full of them. He walked into the room, mostly to look around but also to get some distance from Dan. He felt really grateful for being able to stay here, he’s never been in such a grand home.

 

Dan rolled his eyes at the boy’s starting away from him. Could it be any more obvious that he was afraid of vampires? Although, Dan couldn’t really blame him that much, to the outside world they can’t really look that great. He was curious though, he wanted to learn more about Phil, where he came from, what he liked, what his favorite color was. “So Phil,” Dan said, striding into the room and sitting down on the queen bed, “Tell me about yourself,” he announced in a faux therapist voice. He sniggered when Phil gave him a stare, obviously not understanding his imitation.

 

Phil didn’t understand, Dan didn’t seem that interested in him before. More like he wanted him gone. Why would he want to know about him. “What do you want to know?” he said, remaining standing. There wasn’t much to him, he saw himself as normal. Other than his genetics, which others see Phil only met someone like him once before, he was young and he was surprised to see someone with ears like him and the tail. He guessed what he has is rare but still around. Other than his fangs Dan only had one feature that stood out, it was his eyes. While Phil could see the red and found it slightly freaky and nothing he’s ever seen before he also saw a hint of brown, which he didn’t know vampires had.

 

Dan shrugged and patted the spot on Phil’s bed next to him. Phil hesitantly obliged and sat a distance away from him, but Dan didn’t mind all that much. “I don’t know, whatever you want. I could tell you about myself first if you’d like. But I feel like we should know each other,” Dan smiled lightly. “I mean, my dad isn’t going to try to get to know you.” He sniffed. Phil’s ears were stood up against his head on alert, his tail still behind him. Dan had befriended a neko before, and their ears usually only did that when they’re scared.

 

Phil nodded, “I just don’t know what to say, I mean I don’t have much to me really,” he said, crossing his legs on the bed. “I didn’t really expect anyone to try to get to know me,” he said, wrapping his tail around himself and playing with it. “But yeah, you start off with some things about you,” Phil said, he was still on alert. He assumed he would be unless somehow he got super comfortable around everyone here.

 

It was hard not to smile at his apprehensiveness, he was acting so politely innocent that Dan couldn’t help but grin. “Okay. Okay,” he started, “I’m sixteen. I’ve just gotten my drivers license. I go to Manchester High and you probably will, too. I’m in year eleven. I can play the piano,” Dan grinned before continuing, “my favorite color is pink.”

 

Phil nodded, “Well I’m fifteen, I was home schooled. Guess I’m not anymore, I like to play video games and my favorite color is green,” he said, continuing to play with his tail and switching his gaze from Dan to the bed. Just watching his fingers and his tail. “And as you can see I have my ears on the top of my head and a tail,” he chuckled.

 

Dan was about to tell him about his general vampiry-ness and such before there was the sound of a door opening and both of their heads snapped to the door. Maid Molly was standing in the doorway, eyes wide and young. She didn’t have fangs, wasn’t born with them, and was older than Dan, only by about five years. She was some distant relative who was going downhill and so Dan’s father offered her the job of a maid. “Hello, Mister Howell,” Molly nodded at Dan. Her gaze flicked to Phil for a few seconds before switching back to Dan, not acknowledging the boy with the cat characteristics. “Sir told me to tell you to get some sleep since it’s late. And he also told me to give this note to Mister Phil,” she said, hurrying into the room and handing Dan the note.

"Thank you, Molly," Dan said, dismissing her. She scampered out of the room, leaving them alone again.

 

Phil looked curious at the note, “For me?” he asked, looking at the note in Dan’s hands. Phil didn’t realize it was late, he should have. He remembers it being dark when he passed out, he didn’t feel very tired so he would probably just go to bed when Dan left. Phil was wondering why the girl didn’t even acknowledging him but just ignored it.

 

Dan smirked at Phil’s eager tone. He didn’t like being left out of things, especially not notes, he decided. “Can I read it out loud?” Dan asked him, but without waiting for an answer he opened the small, folded up piece of paper. In messy handwriting it was scrawled:

“Dear Phil,

you’ll be staying in the guest suite I’m sure that Daniel showed you. Sorry for the state of it, I’ve been meaning to renovate but haven’t had much time. Anyways, you’ll be able to wake up Dan in the middle of the night or something if you need him. It’s a Saturday today, and tomorrow’s Sunday. I’m sorry if you have some sort of religion you need to practice, I think that one of our maids is Catholic so if you need to borrow a bible I’m sure she’s got one. Tomorrow we’ll go shopping to get you some clothes but for now you should ask Dan for some of his pajamas. Come talk to me tomorrow and we’ll see if we can enroll you in the same school Dan’s in. Have a great sleep, and don’t feel like you’re overstaying your welcome! I have a feeling this is just what Dan needs.

Sleep well, sincerely, Howard." Dan finished off in an official voice but his tone faltered when he reached the end of the note. He chuckled to play off his upsettedness with his father, why’d he have to include that bit? He could feel his cheeks burning and reached up to cover his face.

 

Phil chuckled when he saw Dan blushed at the note, “Regret reading it out loud?” He smiled, letting go of his tail. “Oh, and you don’t need to let me borrow your pajamas if you don’t want I’ll be fine in my clothes,” he said, feeling like he needed to play it safe with Dan. Phil felt like he was on the edge of Dan liking him or disliking him right now. He felt like Dan’s father didn’t mind him staying, he seemed very nice and welcoming. Phil felt a bit easier about this whole thing.

 

Dan’s face got even hotter at Phil’s teasing. “I only really have like, one pair of pajamas? And I never wear them,” he admitted quietly, “Be right back.” Dan ran to his room, sliding across the slick wood floor with his socks and got out the matching pajama pants and button up top that his dad had gotten him but he never wore. Of course he didn’t say to Phil, rather implied it, that he only slept in his boxers. He went into Phil’s room where the door was open and saw Phil sitting in the same place as before, playing with the end of his tail patiently. “Here you go, goodnight,” Dan said shortly, exiting the room but taking one last glance back into the guest suite, smiling at Phil before closing the door and sliding to his own bedroom across the hall, thinking about much a life can change in just one freezing night.


	2. Chapter 2

In the morning, as the sunlight traveled through the blinds and traveled up the bed it woke Phil up more gently than his normal wake up call. Which was normally his mother yelling at his brother for something, a nice but upsetting change. When Phil’s eyes opened slightly and felt himself wake up he noticed the bed he was laying in was too soft to be his own and he quickly sat up. Seeing the elegant room with the sunlight traveling across it and remembered where he was. It sent a wave of relief and sadness, mostly because he was glad he wasn’t kidnapped somewhere and because he remembered why he was there in the first place. He looked down and saw the engraved D in the Pajamas he was wearing and remembered Dan bringing them to him and quickly leaving for the night. Phil slipped from under the warm blankets and walked to the door, opening it and peeking out into the hall. He didn’t want to be the only one up, and if it turned out he was he would just stay in the room until called. He wasn’t sure how to normally stay there, he felt awkward taking up their room and just being an added mouth to feed. Dan’s sudden niceness before bed was a slight reassurance that he wasn’t completely hated here. He wondered if Dan was awake yet, part of him hoped he was.

 

Dan sat up in bed as he iPod played the alarm that meant that it was 10 am, and he rubbed his eyes tiredly, wondering why he was sleepier than usual. Was it because… Oh, right. The events from last night, the meeting and taking in of Phil, learning more about him and lending him his own pajamas. Dan sighed and got up from bed, yawning as he brushed his teeth in his personal bathroom and lazily put on sweat pants over his boxers. Usually he’d go down in just his boxers since nobody usually cared in the least, but he for some reason he felt like he’d be embarrassed if Phil saw his bare legs. Being too lazy to find and put on a shirt, he opened the door and walked quietly down the hallway to Phil’s room, wondering if he was awake or not. He opened the door carefully, if the kid was asleep then he didn’t want to wake him up. But when he peaked his head into the door crack, Phil was sitting on his bed, on top of the duvet as if he’s already been up, gazing out the window, hair going in all directions and wearing Dan’s PJ’s. Dan smiled, murmuring a slight ‘hey,’ before saying, “How long have you been awake?”

Phil turned when he heard Dan spoke, “Um, not long. I wasn’t sure if anyone else was to I stayed in here,” he said softly, still not full of energy. He sat down, facing Dan. Phil, surprisingly, was no longer on full alert, he didn’t feel like someone was going to kill him anymore because he’s been shown nothing but kindness. So his ears weren’t standing up but rested and his tail moving around slightly behind him. “I normally wake up early anyway,” he added.

Dan nodded at Phi’s response. He also saw that Phil wasn’t scared anymore by the state of his ears, or maybe he was just tired. Dan hoped it was the first and couldn’t help but feel a bit proud. “Are you hungry? Dad’s not usually up this morning but the chef’ll be, he can make us some breakfast if you’d like that?” he asked.

Phil nodded, “Yeah, that sounds nice,” he said, starting to get up from the bed. He didn’t know if being so unafraid was a good thing, because of how he was brought up he didn’t know much about vampires and he didn’t know if he could ask Dan the questions he had. He wasn’t sure that whatever he asked would be rude in someway. He didn’t want to say something wrong and have Dan hate him, he was lucky Dan didn’t already.

Dan suddenly felt very aware of his bare chest while Phil got up from his bed, feeling self conscious. He supposed he couldn’t go back into his room to change, since Phil didn’t really know the mansion that well yet he couldn’t just send him down. Dan sighed and lead him to the staircase, and they walked down the winding floors slowly. As they approached the bottom, Dan could hear the cook making something already, the pans clattering and dishes being done. He walked into the kitchen curiously, leading a hesitant Phil behind him. “Hey, chef,” Dan smiled.

The cook had known him since he was a baby, he was rather a family friend more than a servant, and even if Dan’s father wasn’t the most friendly with him, Dan had strong bonds. “Hello, Dan, good morning,” the chef said back in a thick Italian accent, and his red eyes flicked over to Phil curiously. “Who’s your friend?”

Phil suddenly felt shy, he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was just how bad he was with new people, but he just smiled small. “I’m Phil,” he said, playing with the soft pajama bottoms though his fingers. One thing that still make him a little uneasy were the red eyes, they just scared him. Dan was a little less because there was a hint of brown in his eyes but everyone else just had the red and it still but Phil on edge. He stayed settled and just stood near Dan.

Phil answered the chef’s question and shuffled a bit closer to Dan, and he could tell that he was a bit nervous so he took over so the kid wouldn’t have to talk. As Dan was about to start talking and Phil shuffled closer yet, so it was almost like he was resting his chin on Dan’s shoulder from behind, the chef gave him a suggestive look. Dan was confused for a moment and then… oh. He shook his head slightly, a blush rising to the top of his cheeks. “Uhm, well, chef. What’s for breakfast this morning?” he gulped, trying not to stutter because he knew how this might look to the cook.

The chef winked at him before continuing, “I’m making some omelets for everyone. What would you and… Phil, like in yours?” he asked warmly.

Phil didn’t understand why Dan started blushing, wondering if it was something he did. He listened to the chef’s question and looked up at Dan. Phil didn’t really mind, he’d take whatever he got. He hoped Dan understood how he didn’t really want to speak up and stayed where he was close to him. Phil would normally stay close to someone when he was being shy or nervous about something, for Phil, Dan was the only one he didn’t mind being near right now.

Dan looked back at Phil and saw that he still looked like he didn’t really feel like speaking up, but Dan didn’t mind speaking for the both of them. “Um, how about sausage and peppers and cheese? For both of us. And, cook Phil’s well done, alright?” Dan said messily. “We’ll wait in the dining room,” he took Phil’s hand from behind him and lead him through the hot, bustling kitchen to the door to the dining hall. There was a massive wooden table and a chandelier that had glass and diamonds hanging down. There was a wine cabinet in the corner that gathered dust since nobody ever drank, and there was another archway to the living room on the other side of the hall. Dan watched as Phil’s face turned to awe and he tugged his friend to the table, pulling out a wooden (but padded with silk on the bum) chair. Phil sat down carefully and Dan sat beside him, watching Phil’s face to his his reaction to everything.

Phil couldn’t believe how amazing the dining room was, he’s never seen a room so big or magnificent. “Is every room like this?” he asked, the bedroom and this room were so incredible. What were the chances that he would be allowed to stay here, some dirty mutant. He sat down in the chair Dan pulled out, he rested his arms on the table. He watched Dan sit in the chair next to him. Phil was thinking that Dan had a lot of self-confidence to walk around shirtless, Phil was really tight about that stuff. He got really embarrassed easily.

They talked about the house for a few minutes, Dan confirming that yes, every room was like that. It was quite tiring actually, he didn’t want to complain about how much money he had since he knew that having less money was actually a lot worse, but he wished his father would put some money towards actual good things instead of spoiling him. In no time at all, two girl servers walked into the dining room and set plates with silver covers over them like always. They revealed what was underneath, and as chef promised, he had made them omelets. In addition, he included a small bowl of fruit and a glass of milk, two pieces of toast for the both of them. Condiments were set on Dan’s plate, a container of hot sauce and then honey and margarine. Dan grabbed at his toast and started buttering and when he was done, he bit into it, chewing the whole grain hungrily. He realized that he didn’t hear Phil eating and looked over to the kid who was just staring at his plate.

Phil looked in amazement at the food, a normal breakfast for him was maybe a burnt waffle and half a glass or orange juice. This was so much more than that, and Dan got to live this everyday? Dan was so lucky, Phil was lucky to stay here. He cut a small corner with his knife and ate it, he’s never tasted something so good. He smiled and took another bite, he was rather hungry from not getting a dinner last night. So Phil wasn’t going to reject a meal as good as this one. He took a sip of his milk, which was his favorite.

The boy next to him took a few slow bites, and then started eating faster and faster, and Dan couldn’t help but laugh as he finished his omelette faster than Dan could pour hot sauce on his. “Slow down, or you’ll upset your tummy,” Dan scolded, hitting Phil lightly on the shoulder.

Phil stopped when Dan tapped him, listening to what he said about going too fast. He nodded and took another sip of drink. He set his fork and knife down, setting his hands in his lap. Phil didn’t know that Vampires ate normal food as well, he always thought the just drank. It was sort of interesting how everything he’s been taught to know about them was slowly being all wrong.

Dan ate slowly, he liked the omelet but eggs weren’t his favorite, but the sausage made things worth eating. He wondered if Phil knew why he had the chef do his meat extra well done. He didn’t want to bring it up in case the kid was grossed out at him or something or other, but vampires still had to get their share of blood. Of course, it wasn’t like they were draining it out of someone’s neck but Dan didn’t usually eat cooked meat. His sharp teeth mowed down the bloody sausage omelet, trying to eat carefully so that Phil didn’t see any blood dripping. He finished and cleaned up his mouth with the cloth set out and saw that Phil was sitting politely next to him, hands folded in his lap and a smile set on his face. “Let’s go-” Dan started to say, but he was interrupted.

"Good morning, Daniel, Phil!" Dan’s father boomed, striding through the door. He was wearing a black suit as per usual, and Dan rolled his eyes. His dad always seemed to need to make a dramatic entrance.

Phil was listening to Dan until his father came in, he smiled. Still staying silent, Phil decided he’d rather stay quiet and not speak unless spoken to. He never was confident around adults and new people, and in this case everything was against him but he just stayed normal. Looking over at Dan to speak, hoping he didn’t mind doing all the talking.

"Good morning, father," Dan spoke lazily, glancing over at his friend to see what his reaction was. Dan was rather embarrassed by his dad, the brunette wasn’t really the kind of person to be extravagant about everything and make a huge deal but his father definitely was. And he could tell it made Phil nervous, far more nervous than he should be. But Dan couldn’t change that, he could only do the talking for him so he wouldn’t have to worry about screwing up while talking or something like that.

Phil looked up at Dan’s father, Phil was never someone to make everything he does grand and get the attention of the room. So he thought Dan understood how he was being quiet. Phil took another sip of his milk and tried to remain invisible in the room. Which he knew wasn’t going to happen because he was a guest and he should speak up for himself. Just the whole thing made him nervous, already staying in the home did and now just talking to them.

Dan’s father glanced down at the pale brunette, a look of disapproval washed upon his features. “Daniel, you really should be wearing proper clothing. Being shirtless and wearing pyjamas to the dining room isn’t going to cut it, son. Go upstairs, get decent,” he said embarrassingly loudly, and Dan’s face heated up. He was surprised, really, his father hadn’t ever told him to ‘get decent’ before, when he was wearing only his boxers. Maybe it was because they had Phil now. “And have Phil borrow some of your clothes, too. We’re going to go shopping for him. That sound alright, Phil?” Dan’s dad proposed.

Phil nodded, deciding if he said nothing it would seem rude. “It sounds very nice, thank you,” he said quietly but it was still said, he could see the blush on Dan’s face after his father told him to get clothes on. Phil wasn’t one to mind because when he’s comfortable around people he does the same thing, so in Phil’s mind it was a small compliment that Dan felt comfortable around Phil. Or he just had a lot of self confidence and didn’t care if Phil saw, but Phil wanted to go with the first one. When he saw Dan get up to get dressed like his father told him too Phil stood as well, because his dad also said to provide Phil with clothes also. And Phil didn’t want to stay down there alone with Dan’s father.

Dan got up from his chair, leaving his dirty platter and plate on the table as he knew that their staff would take care of it. Without looking back he could hear Phil’s careful footsteps following him upstairs. He wanted to be away from his dad as soon as possible, so he flew up the stairs, not really caring that Phil probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with him. Once he had gotten to the third floor, he sat on his bed with the door open, making him feel self conscious, but he had to make sure that Phil could get into his room somehow.

Phil saw Dan sprint up the stairs and Phil just walked up, did he do something? When he got to the third floor and peaked into Dan’s room, wondering if he was mad at him for something. Maybe Phil was just over analyzing it, Dan must go up those stairs three times everyday. It was normal for him to go faster. When he peaked in Dan was now out of his pajamas and Phil jumped slightly when he quickly turned to look at him. He must have wonderful hearing because Phil thought he didn’t even make a sound.

After changing, Dan went through his closet quickly, picking out something for Phil to wear. When he had arrived he was wearing a ratty striped jumper with shoulder pads and a pair of faded jeans and worn out tennis shoes. Dan didn’t want him to have to wear anything remotely like that. His wardrobe seemed a lot different from what Phil was wearing, but maybe he’d like the change. He picked out a pink button-up with a black sweater and black skinny jeans, wool socks and studded Doc Martins. He hadn’t wore those clothes in forever but he kind of hoped Phil would like them, or at least would tolerate them. He’d be fine picking out more of a normal outfit for his friend, but he was having fun playing dress up with him. And when he heard a noise behind him, he turned around sharply where Phil was standing adorably against his door frame, clad in those stupid red pyjamas with the ‘D’ embroidered on them. He giggled to himself before saying happily, “Hey, Phil. I’ve picked you out this,” holding up the clothes for Phil to see.

When he heard Dan speak happily he wasn’t scared to walk in, he walked up to Dan and looked at the clothes he picked out. They were much different than what he had at home, but it wasn’t like Phil got to pick what he wore at home anyways. While his brother got any clothes he wanted, Phil at to pick from goodwill. Which is one reason he should have assumed this whole thing was going to happen to him, “There really nice,” Phil said, “But what if they don’t fit me? You are a bit smaller then me,” he said quietly. The pajamas of Dan’s he was wearing were fitting on him but he didn’t know if they were Dan’s size anyways because he remembers Dan saying he rarely wears them.

Dan shrugged, the mental image of Phil wearing too-small clothes popping up in his head and making him involuntarily giggle. “I mean, you could ask dad if you want some larger clothes, but all he’s got are like, suits. Literally,” the boy said, smiling. “Just try them on! In my bathroom, over there. Give me a fashion show,” he prompted, lifting himself up on his dresser and swinging his legs back and forth.

Phil couldn’t help but chuckle, “Even if I bet it’ll be fine, these pajamas fit fine so i can only assume the clothes will fit the same,” he smiled, seeing Dan bounce up on his dresser. Phil went into the bathroom Dan showed him and took off the pajamas, putting on the clothes Dan chose for him. They fit fine, he had no idea what he was worried about. He was curious to why Dan put him in this though, maybe this was normal clothes for him. He opened the bathroom door and peaked out of it, opening it more and coming out. “They’re comfy,” he smiled, the only thing he had a problem with was how his tail needed to be compressed in the pants. But he didn’t want to have to worry Dan with that, he lived with it in the Pajamas.

Dan giggled as Phil came out of his bathroom and raved about how good they felt, but when he turned around he could see his tail peeking out of his pants. “Wait a second,” he said, crossing the room to his desk and fishing the drawer for a pair of scissors. Phil was looking at him curiously, giving him an odd look. “I need to cut those pants so your tail can come out, okay? It looks funny if you don’t,” Dan said, looking him up and down, “Would you take them off?”

Phil blushed slightly, he definitely wasn’t one to be in his boxers in front of someone. “Uh, I can do it if you want. I kinda know where the hole should go and i don’t want your cutting holes in your pants for no reason,” he said, hoping Dan understood how he’d rather not do the whole thing where he’s have to change in the bathroom and pass the pants though the crack in the door. It just would be easier for Phil to do it as well, he’s had to cut holes in pants before so his tail wouldn’t be squashed.

Dan rolled his eyes and handed over the scissors to Phil, him immediately after rushing into the bathroom. When he came out he looked a lot more comfortable, and a lot more confident- he probably felt good in the borrowed clothes and he definitely looked great. Dan didn’t want to be thinking things about he basically new sibling, but he was- Phil looked extremely hot in the clothes. The studded boots made him taller, about the same height or even maybe a bit taller than Dan was, and the layered shirts were definitely to be desired. Dan smiled in approval, hoping he wasn’t letting off how appreciative he was of Phil’s looks, and he lead his friend back downstairs to see if Dan’s father was ready.

It felt much better to have his tail out, he looked back up at Dan to see his smile and Phil grinned. When Dan started back down the stairs he followed, he noticed that he was around the same height as Dan now and knew it was because of the shoes. Which were the craziest ones he’s ever seen in his life. When they got down to the first floor again Phil kept near Dan, knowing his father would be looking for them. He wondered if Dan’s dad was going to stick with them when they went shopping. If he did Phil knew he would get nervous when Dan wasn’t around.

Once they had gotten to the bottom floor of the mansion once again, they went into the TV room connected to the front room and saw maid Molly standing next to Dan’s father’s sofa where he was sitting, eating a piece of whole wheat toast aggressively and drinking black coffee. He seemed engrossed in the news channel he was watching, which seemed to be delivering some kind of ‘Breaking News’ report, but Dan didn’t care all that much. World news didn’t really apply to him, so why bother? Once they were in Dan’s dad’s peripheral vision, though, he quickly shut off the program and got to his feet, giving them and particularly Phil a guilty smile. “Ready to go, then?”

Phil just nodded as a reply, remaining next to Dan. He didn’t know why he felt nervous or even scared with being around Dan’s father. Maybe it was because he felt safer with Dan, for some strange reason. They are around the same age and Dan hasn’t really shown any reason for Phil to be scared of him but neither has Dan’s father. Dan just doesn’t scare him, and for some reason the adults in the house do. Phil’s not use to being around new people anyways, so he could just pass it off as his shyness.

 

Dan felt Phil nuzzling behind him and smiled a bit, feeling his warmth as his father led them out of the mansion, the coat room exit. Phil stayed close to Dan’s back as they went to the garage from there and got into the car, Dan shielding him and Phil from the cold, crisp air. They got into Dan’s father’s black truck, and they both got into the back, Phil in the middle and Dan on the left side of the car. Phil seemed amazed as he was with everything that was normal in Dan’s life as his dad started the car, and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3

The car ride was silent, not so much awkwardly, but more that Phil didn’t want to say anything, and nothing needed to be said. The whole ride Phil looked out of the right side window and watched the trees and houses go flying by. When they got there Phil finally looked somewhere else then the window and it was at Dan, he copied Dan’s action of unbuckling and Phil got out of the car. He went around the back of the car and stood next to Dan, looking around. He’d never been here, so they must’ve be a ways away from where Phil lives, or used to live. Phil could only wonder how far away he was.

 

The car ride was silent, and Dan remembered once how he was talking to his father on the way to school, something about how he loved one of his teachers, and then his dad had told him to stop talking. That it distracted him. Dan didn’t really listen though, he was never a great listener. It was then when his father had yelled at him, pulled the car over so that he could look into the back seat and complain about how talkative he was and that they could’ve gotten into a car crash and he would have been dead. He didn’t really talk for a week after that until one of the maids asked if he was sick. He sighed as he got out of the car when his dad pulled into the mall parking lot and they got out, slowly making their way inside the huge building, interconnected with others. Even with the dull memories, Dan couldn’t help but be at least a bit excited. Mall trips were always fun.

 

When they got inside Phil immediately started looking around at the new area, not walking far off from Dan but still curiously looking around. He saw many stores selling a variety of things and different music coming from the different stores. From what Phil could see the building was very big with the number of floors. Phil’d never been to a shopping center of this size, he’d mainly been to the goodwill stores and sometimes to the food stores with his mother. He would never get taken out much, he wondered if the normal shopping center was this size and he’d just never been taken to one. There were many people walking in and out of stores and chatting, Phil felt compelled to stick close to Dan. When Phil looked up at him he saw the smile on Dan’s face, it put one on Phil’s as well.

 

"Alright, boys, I have to go to the tailor to get myself a new suit for my business trip in a few days, so I’ll just give you some money? Daniel, make sure that you stick together, and you have your phone, correct?" Sighing, Dan nodded. He wanted to play off like he was less happy with the arrangement than he was demonstrating, that way his father would leave them alone. That was what he was hoping, anyways. "Alright. Okay, make sure you stick together, and don’t use all this money on yourself. It’s for Phil! I’ll be here to pick you up whenever you want, just text me," Dan’s father said loudly over the Christmas music in the background. He handed Dan 600$ and laughed at Phil’s stunned face, nodding at them and disappearing into the crowded mall.

 

Phil looked up at Dan when his father handed him the money, he could only see the slightly chuckle at Phil for how confused he was. “He just gave you 600 bucks, I’ve never seen that kind of money in my whole life”. He said, but he should have been able to guess that Dan would have gotten that after the elegance of his home. Phil knew from the moment Dan’s father was going to take him shopping that he wasn’t going to make them spend a lot, he was going to try and get the cheapest things he could because he wasn’t his son. He was a guest and he was lucky enough to be given a home and a chance to get clothes. “You’re so lucky,” Phil said, he’d give anything to be Dan. He had such an amazing lifestyle.

 

Dan giggled at Phil’s awestruck face, but had to cover his mouth because he didn’t want to seem mean or anything. It was just adorable how he was acting. “And it’s all for you, alright? Let’s go to the west wing, we’ll go window shopping and you can stop me whenever you see anything you like. Also my favorite shop is at the end of the west wing, so let’s go!” Dan took Phil’s arm and away they went through the intersection of the mall, weaving through the crowd on their way to their own stores. Phil stayed very close to him, and maybe he’d be a bit grumpy over the lack of personal space with anyone else, but with Phil he was just comfortable. They went past a few shops before they came to the candle store, and Dan could smell all of the scents sending signals to his over hyper brain instantaneously, making him flinch and walk steadily away, gripping Phil’s arm tightly and pressing his pale hand against his nose and mouth.

 

Phil smiled and Dan began to pull him to the west wing. He couldn’t help but chuckle at how Dan thought he was going to let him spend that much money on him. As they walked Phil was swaying his head to the repetitive Christmas music, Christmas was always his favorite time of the year even though he didn’t get much on the actual holiday. He stopped though when he felt Dan squeeze his arm and pull away quickly, he looked up at him covering his face and was concerned to what was wrong. He looked around the noticed the candle store, he had a little information on vampires but he knew they had a very good sense of smell and the store was strong for Phil’s normal sense of smell. He helped Dan walk out of the reach of the store by pulling him with his free hand.

 

Dan inhaled shakily as Phil lead him knowingly away from the candle shop, and he blinked hard a few times. They had gotten out of distance of it, and Phil quietly encouraged him to breathe. “It’s alright,” Phil murmured, patting his arm gently. Dan took deep breathes and as he came to his senses, he realized how embarrassed he should feel. It was just a candle store that set him off. What foolishness. He wiped his face with his hands, feeling hives but not really caring. “Let’s stick to the other side of the wing, alright?” Dan smiled weakly. “Sorry about that.”

 

Phil nodded, “It’s fine,” he said, still a big worried, but he knew Dan probably knew how to handle it better than Phil could. “We’ll make sure to stay away from anything strong like that,” Phil added, the both of them beginning to walk again. “So you said your favorite store was over here, what’s it called?” he asked, continuing to look into the windows of the stores and seeing what each sold. Phil still made it a point to not ask for anything and see where Dan wanted to take him, he already felt lucky to stay in there home. He didn’t deserve a whole shopping spree like Dan thought.

 

Dan smiled, clearing his throat. He liked to talk, and he got the feeling that Phil wasn’t very much of the talkative type, so they fit perfectly. “I really like this store called YesStyle. My dad thinks the clothes there are horrendous, and maybe that’s one of the reasons why I like it so much, but the I also really like the fashions,” Dan boasted about his favorite shop as they steadily walked down the hall, looking at windows. “Seen anything you like yet? We’ve got a fair amount of money so you can pick whatever store!” he encouraged.

 

Phil listened to what Dan was saying and nodded, while Phil didn’t like to talk much he loved to listen. “I know I just don’t like getting things, or I’m not used to it. What I get for clothes are usually picked out for me,” he said, looking into the stores they were going past. “I don’t like anything flashy, different from you I guess,” he chuckled, it wasn’t really true that Dan’s clothes were flashy, but he was wearing spiked shoes. What gets more flashy than that? “If you remember what I was wearing when I first came, I kinda dress like that. I hate being the center of attention,” Phil said.

 

It was hard to not laugh at Phil’s hesitant criticisms, “I know my style’s flashy, but don’t be like a mum, alright? I can wear what I want,” Dan chuckled, and then second thought. He might sound a bit harsh to Phil, seeing as he’d known him less than 24 hours. Glancing to Phil’s face, his tentative face confirming his suspicions. “I mean, like, I’m- There’s the store!” Dan exclaimed distractedly, pointing at a store with metallic colored mannequins displaying dramatically fashionable clothes. “Let’s go!”

 

After hearing Dan’s comment he was about to apologize and just stay quiet, but then Dan started talking again to change his own subject about how they were coming up to the store. Phil smiled small and just followed Dan. Deciding to not make anymore of his own comments and just talk when he’s spoken too. When they came up to the store and went in Phil looked around, seeing why Dan liked it so much. It did seem like his kind of clothes from what he’s provided Phil.

 

Dan rushed into the clothing store, looking around and grinning. He loved shopping, call him a shopaholic, it was true. The shoes on the right side of the store were lining the walls up and down, every kind of sneaker or studded sandal you could imagine. There was a feminine section and a masculine section, and specific places where you could buy things like jewelry and accessories. In the back of the room there was a changing area. He inhaled the scent of the store, a musky fume that smelt like the cologne he wore from this store. He remembered Phil was behind him and glanced back, seeing him standing hesitantly in the doorway. Dan raised his eyebrows. “Well? What do you think?”

 

Phil looked around when they got in, seeing the divided sections and the clothes they offered. He looked back at Dan when he was asked a question, “Yeah, it’s nice,” Phil said, not really pointing out that it was a little too flashy for him. He just wanted to blend in, he already stood out enough because of his ears and tail. He saw Dan was excited though, so that was the main reason he kept his mouth shut and just followed him. In this situation, however, Phil couldn’t really be picky, and if he was picked out something he wouldn’t say no. He wished they wouldn’t spend any money on him in the first place.

 

“So,” the brunette said excitedly, seeing that Phil was a bit quiet and trying to get him into the spirit. “Do you think we should start at the shirts? It doesn’t really matter so let’s go,” Dan said, grabbing his friend’s hand and leading him over to the tops section. He went over to a color coded rack and felt through the shirts, seeing Phil fall behind him hesitantly. He smiled reassuringly back at Phil and continued to leaf through the shirts.

 

Phil was surprised when Dan grabbed his hand and pulled him, he tried to not fall over and walked to where Dan was pulling. He stayed a few steps away from Dan as he was looking though the shirts. He saw Dan look back, he knew he was only trying to help but Phil couldn’t feel like being spent on. So he wasn’t being rude and walked over and looked where Dan was sorting through. There were some normal shirts that were not very flashy, and Phil had a liking for those. But he was horrified at how expensive they were. How can a simple shirt be so much money?

 

Dan was sorting through clothes and trying to forget his own desire for flashy and studded clothing and trying to stick with Phil’s suggestion for less noticeable clothes that he mentioned earlier. Dan sighed as he glanced over to where Phil was holding up a tag and staring at it. He looked surprised and sort of disappointed. “What’s up?” Dan asked, walking over to where he was standing and looking at the price tag for a fairly plain shirt.

 

“I had no idea clothes can even be this expensive, this is crazy,” he said, looking up at Dan who walked over. “Like, how expensive can they make a piece of cloth?” he added, deciding he might hold off in this store and wait until they go somewhere a little less crazy. He did like the shirt, it was soft and had stripes so he was a little disappointing that it costed so much. But he was used to that, he didn’t get many things he’d wanted for being too pricey.

 

Dan shook his head and smiled as he heard Phil's words and lightly took the tag out of his hands. It read forty-five pounds. He couldn’t help but laugh out loud- that wasn’t much at all. “If you like this shirt, then we’re getting it,” Dan giggled, taking it off of the rack and smiling at the stunned kid. Well, he said kid, but Phil wasn’t actually all that younger than Dan. Only about a year, Phil had said. But Dan just felt so much older that Phil, so much more of a leader and way more confident. He couldn’t help but feel like he needed to protect Phil, because he seemed like he hadn’t been very exposed to the real world. But that also meant that he was getting unanticipatedly more attached to Phil by the second.

 

Phil felt horrified when Dan started taking the shirt off the rack and said he was getting it, “You really don’t have to do that- I can find a place a little less expensive. It’s fine,” he pleaded, seeing that he wasn’t going to be able to convince Dan not to get him the shirt. Phil just felt awful that they were spending money on him, but he guessed it was going to happen whether he liked it or not. But he guessed he was just lucky to have people being so nice to him. He was really grateful that they were being so wonderful to him, some people were less than pleasant to him. He would assume it was how he was different. He’d been called a wide variety of things from animal to pet. He wasn’t a pet, he was a person. It just got him angry, they were no better than him.

 

Dan frowned at Phil’s pleadings to not buy him things. “I mean… we could go somewhere else in the mall, if you’d like, but if you want this shirt, I could definitely buy it for you-” he waffled, but then glancing down at his friend and seeing him looking rather upset, making him stop. He felt rather bad after that, of course Phil felt out of place in this, he guessed you could say 'expensive store', and Dan was probably making things worse. “How’s about we walk in the mall and you pick out a store that you like?” he murmured quietly, just loud enough that Phil could hear him over the electric music of the store. He smiled shyly, hoping that it would go better after he gave Phil a choice.

 

Phil nodded. “Yeah, that sounds better,” he said softly so it was quieter. He felt like he wouldn’t feel as guilty for them spending money on him if they were cheap clothes like he normally got. Maybe there’d be a store in the mall like he used to go to with his mom to get all of his clothes. They were donated to the store but they were cheap and Phil was used to them. “I just really, really hate having your family spend money on me,” he added, hoping somehow he didn’t make Dan mad at him again. He hated it when he was. He didn’t know if it would come across as rude because he should be grateful to have this chance and get good clothes but Phil just couldn’t. He deserved the cheap clothes he was used to.

 

Dan coughed, trying to not scare Phil by reassuring him the way he usually did when he was doing it to friends. When he was consoling his friends, he would usually call them dicks and punch them in the shoulder. But Phil was different, he couldn’t just go around doing that. They exited the flashy store unit and into the main hallway of the mall, Phil keeping close behind Dan. “Well, I don’t know. You came to the right family, because I suppose we have a bit of money to go around,” Dan said gently, pulling Phil to the side of the isle and pretending to be interested in window displays to try to get Phil interested.

 

Phil felt a bit glad to be walking around again, and he nodded at Dan’s words. He sometimes saw Dan look interested in the windows and Phil would also look, but he felt a little iffy until they came across to a salvation army store. Phil stopped walking and saw Dan turn when he did. “What about in there?” Phil asked, he remembered that was the kind of store he would shop in before.

 

Dan inhaled sharply as Phil pointed excitedly over at a charity store, one he’d never gone into but Phil looked like he was comfortable and familiar with it, so Dan shrugged. “If you really want to, I suppose we can make a visit,” Dan said hesitantly, not knowing what to expect. Old clothes, probably ugly, too. Why did Phil want to go there?

 

"I just use to go there to get all my clothes with my mum," Phil said, seeing how Dan was acting and how he was hesitant about going in. He could see why, it didn’t seem like somewhere Dan would shop. It was for the poor, or for Phil who only option by his mum was to shop there while his brother got to shop anywhere he liked. "We don’t have to go in if you don’t want to," he said quieter, rubbing his neck slightly. They weren’t the best clothes, but they were what Phil deserved, or what he’s been said he’s deserved.

 

Dan tried to stay upbeat as Phil’s eyes jumped around the windows of the Salvation Army. Surely, Dan was more nervous about this than Phil was. He’d always been scared of those charity stores, they were cheaply lighted unlike the rest of the mall and didn’t have modern displays or even any mannequins. They didn’t even look like they were trying to display their clothes all that much. He’d never had to go into one of those stores before, and it seemed sort of menacing. Why go in a second-hand clothes shop if you could get newer, more fashionable ones at your disposal? But it was Phil’s choice, really, so Dan sighed obligingly. “Sure. But you’ll have to lead the way, I’ve never been in here before.”

 

Phil nodded, he could already tell Dan’s feelings on the store just by his face. Phil knew someone like Dan, who could get really any piece of clothing he wanted, wouldn’t think the stores Phil normally went to were as good. Phil wished he could just tell Dan the things he wanted and not worry about cost but that was how he was raised. He was put guidelines on what he could get and how much someone had to be. He was used to getting whatever was given to him, he wasn’t used to picking things out for himself. He began to walk into the store, it was similar to the one he used to go to with his mother. Racks of the different clothes separated by type and color. He turned to see Dan and saw the disgust on his face. Phil wished he didn’t have to go through this, he just wanted to go home. But he didn’t really have one anymore.

 

Dan looked around the racks, trying to content himself with trying to help Phil get some clothes without coming on too strongly. He hoped that Phil would hurry up and get something, because he was nervous in this store, it wasn’t like any other he had been to before and that was saying something since before that day he had thought he’d been to every one in the mall. An old lady wearing a navy apron smiled at him politely, coughing a bit as she cleared her throat, and spoke in a kindly, quiet voice, “Do you young lads need any help today?” Dan kneaded his hands together and glanced towards Phil for help.

 

When Phil heard a different voice from Dan’s direction he looked up, seeing that Dan for once didn’t want to speak for himself. “No, thank you,” Phil said quietly, still shy from other people. It has run through Phil’s mind about leaving, not the store, but just explaining to Dan and his father that he really couldn’t stay and just leave to try and fend for himself. He should be able to do it, he wasn’t a baby. He was so thankful for how nice they were being, Phil just didn’t know if he could do it. He just wanted to be alone. He wondered if he should say something to Dan about it, if he was really thinking about something like that Dan should tell him before they spend money him. He could see how Dan wanted to leave. “You know we can just go and you can go anywhere and get whatever you want. I really don’t need anything,” he said, just as quiet as before.

 

Dan’s eyebrows furrowed and he went behind a rack with Phil. “I don’t need anything, Phil. This shopping trip is for you, remember?” Dan murmured, pretending to leaf through the different red shirts. “And I can tell you think you’re infringing. You’re not, okay? You’re my friend, and my dad loves you…” he trailed off, thinking for a second. Usually when he told people they were friends it was just for show, and all of his friends had been people who didn’t really care much about who he was except for his dumb money and sorts. He sighed, trying to think back to what Phil was wearing the day before, when he arrived at their mansion. “You like jumpers, correct?”

 

Phil nodded, smiling slightly when Dan called him his friend. Phil really just thought he was some animal that they took in out of pity, he still thinks that just a little less. He felt bad now about thinking about leaving, he might talk to Dan about it tonight and see what he says. He was too lucky to be with these people, there giving him way more than he deserves. “Yeah, I like them,” Phil answered, his fingers fiddling with his shirt slightly.

 

Dan smiled back at him, their faces level with each other since Phil had on those ridiculous shoes. Dan strided over across the room, looking over the sweater/jumper section of racks. It had so many different colors. He thought of last night, when they talked about simple stuff they liked, sitting on Phil’s bed. He had said his favorite color was green. Dan went over to the green sweater section and looked through it, and after a bit of fiddling, finding one with a pattern with polar bears and dots running across the top that looked not so used (still had the tags on it from the previous owner). He held it up for Phil, who was on the other side of the rack, quietly ruffling through the jumpers. “Do you like this?” Dan asked.

 

Phil looked up when he heard Dan pull someone off the rack, Phil smiled and nodded, going around the rack and up to Dan. He touched the jumper, “It’s so soft,” he chuckled, happy he found something. He guessed he was just better at shopping when someone picked out what he was getting, no matter what Dan held up Phil would have probably liked it. It was even his favorite color, Phil had to love it.

 

Dan grinned at the younger one, smiling broadly and handing him the jumper. He held his hand up to his face in a manner that seemed like he was contemplating his thoughts in a mock sort of way. “Well, I’ll make a deal with you. How’s about for every one thing I pick out for you, you have to pick out one, too. It’ll be like a game, and if you don’t play then you’ll lose,” Dan announced. Maybe Phil would be less hesitant if he put shopping in a better, more playful light.

 

Phil chuckled. “Such a challenge,” he smiled, “but alright, I’ll try,” Phil added, knowing Dan was trying to help him gain the skill to pick clothes out for himself. Phil looked around and began to walk over to the different rack, looking though the shirts and trying to pick something out that was his size and wasn’t old. Phil was flipping though shirts until he found a tee shirt that was white for the exception of blue sleeves. He took it off the rack and lifted it. “Is this too stupid?” he asked Dan.

 

The brunette smiled teasingly at Phil. “It’s not stupid! One point for Phil, ding ding ding,” he emphasized sarcastically. They went on with the game until Phil had 6 shirts, 3 jumpers and 7 new pairs of pants and they were in a giggly mood, the both of them. Dan was actually having fun, and as he glanced at his watch, he realized it had gotten a bit late. “Well, it’s about three o’clock, maybe we should get moving and check out,” he motioned to Phil, smiling encouragingly. “That was fun.”

 

Phil had to say it got fun when Dan made it a game, he felt more like he was pleasing Dan with finding clothes than wasting their money. When Dan mentioned the time Phil nodded and walked with Dan to the check out. Phil was happy with what he got, now he wouldn’t have to cut holes into Dan’s pants again. He felt bad for having to do that, he could have lived with it. After they checked out Phil followed Dan to where he and his Dad said they would meet because Phil didn’t know the mall too well.

 

As he led Phil over to the center of the entire mall, the food court, he couldn’t help but feel… giddy. Satisfied, and giddy. He had actually gotten Phil to pick out clothes for himself, and he felt like an elated therapist who was healing an anxiety patient. Maybe the next step would be getting Phil to actually trust Dan and his dad. More importantly Dan, because obviously they hadn’t really started their relationship with the correct footing (which had been more or less Dan’s fault, even if he didn’t want to admit it). Dan basically came to terms with the fact that Phil would be staying with them at least a while longer. And maybe that wasn’t so much of a horrible thing.


	4. Chapter 4

Phil had been thinking about what he was going to do the whole ride back to Dan’s house. He was thinking about if he should tell Dan about his plans of not staying long, but why would Dan care? At first, from Phil’s perspective, Dan didn’t really like him. Phil got why; he would feel the same if his father brought someone random into their house. Someone of a different race included. But by then Phil was not so sure, earlier that day Dan seemed nice and he tried the things Phil asked. Phil decided he was going to tell him, just explain that he felt weird staying there and that he shouldn’t be there. It was around nighttime when Phil decided this, he was back in the spare room he slept in the day before. He put on a pair of pyjamas he had just picked out earlier that day. He also knew Dan wouldn’t have a reason to come into the room to talk with him, so Phil would have to go to Dan’s. He wasn’t sure if he was going to remember where Dan’s room was, but as he was walking though the hall it was familiar and he found it quickly. When Phil finally gained the courage to knock he did it lightly, hoping Dan didn’t hear and he would just to back to his room.

 

“You really have a cat-boy living in your house with you?” laughed Dan’s friend PJ from the other side of the line. Dan’s eyebrows furrowed. He knew that Peej probably wouldn’t take the news very well, but he really wasn’t expecting him to be /amused/. He sighed, and was about to explain how Phil really wasn’t that bad, before he heard a very quiet and hesitant-sounding knock on the other side of his large, wooden door and his eyes widened. His dad didn’t knock before coming into his room, and obviously, none of the maids would come in at this late at night.

 

He quickly hung up the phone without bidding goodbye to his friend, and spoke a small, “Come in,” in the direction of his door, setting down the phone on his bedside table. He consciously looked around his room, looking at all the messes that laid all over the place and down at himself, the only clothing he held were his thin boxers. He pulled his duvet up around him and glanced again to the entrance to his room.

 

Phil sighed, opening the door and walking in, not going further into the room then a few steps from the door. He felt like he was intruding in a way. “Um, hey. I kinda wanna talk to you about something,” he spoke quietly, scratching the back of his neck out of awkwardness. He didn’t know why he felt like this, like wherever he went in this house he didn’t belong. At least he wasn’t terrified at his species anymore. Phil didn’t know if Dan would even care if he told him, it wasn’t like the other liked him very much and Phil didn’t even know what possessed him to come to his room but it wasn’t like he couldn’t tell him about it now.

 

Dan yawned and smiled at Phil, his eyes wide as always and the brunette noted the height difference from earlier that day, because he wasn’t wearing those platformed, spiky boots anymore, just socks. “Yeah, come on then,” Dan murmured, gesturing over to his bed in an attempt to get Phil to sit down on it so they could be less awkward. Phil just carried around this aura of awkwardness that no amount of Dan’s usual eccentric personality could rid. So he just ushered the younger boy farther into his room, smiling to himself a bit when he complied, shutting the door behind him and sitting at the end of Dan’s bed.

 

Phil moved to sitting at the end of the bed when Dan motioned for him to come in more, crossing his legs when sitting. “I just wanted to, um, talk about how I don’t think I’ll be staying here long,” he said, his voice going as quiet as he could without having Dan not hear him. “I really appreciate how your dad took me in, but I just don’t think I really belong here,” he added, his gaze watching his hands which were rested in his lap.

 

Dan had to bite his cheek because he felt like laughing a bit at his statement, as it sounded more of a joke to him than anything else. But as he gazed at the younger boy’s worried and upset-looking facial features turned down into a frown, he felt his own face morphing into something less than jolly. He bit his lip, and began, “Why would you leave us?” Of course, there were countless reasons, but in Dan’s mind, Phil didn’t really have anyplace to go. Unless he went to his own home, but didn’t Phil say something about not going back? Did that mean he had family trouble? And then there was that chunk of Dan’s brain, the selfish part of him, screaming, ‘don’t go, you need to stay here, for me,’ because as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he had really gotten attached to the boy next to him, ears flattened to his head just like the night before when he and first arrived at their mansion.

 

"I feel like I’m outstaying my welcome, I was going to die out there if your dad didn’t take me in and I’m so happy he did. But I thought about it and that one night is all I think I should be staying here. This is your family and your home, I’m kind of invading," Phil tried to explain. He knew he had no where else he could go, and going home wasn’t an option. But people lived on the streets all the time, his kind more than normal. He would be able to live, but he just wouldnt tell Dan that or he’ll never be let to leave.

 

Dan sniffed and drove his nails into his palms. “You’re not ‘overstaying your welcome,’ if that’s of any consolation to you. We like you here. I like you here,” the brunette insisted, sitting up more in his bed so he could be closer to Phil. “And you’re most definitely not invading, I can tell you that. My dad likes you a lot. I think I know why, though,” he explained, his face scrunching up. He bit his lip, if he would have to get personal for Phil to stay with them, then he would. There was a pause as he waited for Phil to ask him for an explanation to his previous statement.

 

“I don’t know why he would like me, I don’t really talk to him much. It’s just, all adults just seem judgmental, they just scare me. Everyone does. You’ve just been so nice and I just really don’t deserve it, I just don’t want to be bugging you and everyone with my stay,” he said, his gaze raising up to Dan. Out of nervousness he started holding his tail, playing with the fur. Just something to fiddle his hands with. He didn’t really understand why Dan would want him to stay, it wasn’t like Phil would bring anything good with the stay. “Why do you think your dad likes me?” he asked, not having a clue as to why.

 

Dan felt a smile forming on his face as Phil pulled his tail from behind him and ran his slim fingers over the jet black fur coating it. The lump in his throat thickened as he thought about how rare this actually happened. Him, actually have down-to-earth conversations with people. Usually his ‘friends’ his age would call him a dick every chance they got and if he actually told him anything about his emotions they’d probably just call him a faggot. His dad didn’t care one bit about his feelings, either, and Dan could honestly say he felt his maids cared more about his well-being than his father did. He cleared his throat, and started, “You’ve never seen my mother around here. There’s a reason for that, Phil.” He realized he was staring at the ceiling, and then cleared his throat again, looking at Phil’s intent blue orbs, as he continued, “My mum is dead. But when she was alive, she wasn’t a vampire. No, she was a neko, just like you.”

 

Phil’s eyes widened at the information, it makes sense why Dan hated him so much. Maybe not as much now but he knew Dan didn’t like him, it must’ve be terrible to see Phil’s kind. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea. It must be awful to see me or anyone like me, I had no idea. If you wanted me to leave sooner you should have told me because I would have understood,” Phil rambled, why did Dan even want him to stay? Seeing him must be horrible, Phil leaving would be a good thing for Dan. He must remind Dan about his dead mother every day, Phil didn’t understand why he would want him to stay.

 

Dan quickly shook his head, grabbing Phil’s arm and making him look in his eyes. “I don’t want you to leave, Phil. It’s- It’s nice, really, I like having you around. I didn’t really even know her, ‘cause she died when I was a baby. But when I look at old pictures of her in our photo album, she looks like you. She had black hair as well, and a long tail just like yours,” Dan said tentatively, unsheathing himself from his blankets in order to get closer to his friend. He sat next to Phil, looking into his soft and confused cerulean eyes, lit only by the faint light coming from his bedside-table lamp. “My dad loved her a lot, though. And I think when he looks at you, he’s reminded of her, so I think that’s one of the reasons he likes you,” Dan murmured, watching Phil’s hand carefully stroking his tail fur, flattening it out over the expanse of his tail. And by impulse, the brunette reached out and grabbed Phil’s hand, encasing it in his own in a testing manner, clenching his eyes shut and waiting to hear Phil’s negative reaction. Surely it’d be negative.

 

Maybe it was how Dan was quite hesitant to tell the story or how he looked afraid to tell it as well that made Phil understand, he would have ever guessed he looked like his mother, or at least had similar qualities as her. Phil could understand why the father took him in that night. Maybe it wasn’t quite sympathy for Phil, it was just the similarities that drove him to do it. But when Dan took his hand he looked up at the other, feeling sorry for him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have just left anyway I would have told one of you. I didn’t even know if he liked me, I was just lucky to be alive because of him,” he whispered, thinking how awful it would have been if Phil just left.

 

Dan shakily laughed, even though there wasn’t much humor to their situation. “Don’t be sorry. I just- Please don’t leave,” he whispered, feeling like he must be quiet about it. Phil’s hand felt warm in contrast to his cold and clammy one, and he thought about how repulsed Phil must feel to be holding his hand, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to unclasp them, as the younger one didn’t initiate it quite yet. So he just pulled Phil up to the top of the bed, where there were pillows stacked up and such, and it was a king bed so they could sit comfortably while still holding each other’s hand, and Dan felt quite comfortable as he intertwined their fingers together, hoping Phil would be okay with the mildly intimate gesture. “I can assure you everyone loves having you here.”

 

Phil nodded, still moving his tail in a way so it wrapped around himself. He nodded, “I won’t, I’ll stay,” he said, knowing now he wouldn’t really want to, after what Dan had told him. He moved up the bed when Dan pulled him, sitting and leaning on the pillows. It was comfortable, also the hand holding. Phil wasn’t one to be used to affection, his family wasn’t very up on that. So the comfort was nice, he just hoped Dan didn’t mind. Being as he was the one who took Phil’s hand Phil guessed he didn’t, but you never know. Phil knew he wouldn’t be staying here forever, even though at the time he thought that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. If what Dan said was true, these people like him more than his family. But anybody really did, his family were not loving people. But when the time would come that he does leave, or he is made to leave, he could already tell it wasn’t going to be an easy day.

 

Dan’s eyes lit up at Phil’s assurances and smiled gently at him, before a yawn escaped his mouth. He quickly covered it, feeling embarrassed and hearing Phil’s giggle from in front of him. He felt his face get hot but laughed it off with Phil, and lazily rubbed small circles into Phil’s hand. He swallowed another lump in his throat (he seemed to get a lot of those when he’s around Phil, he realized) and proceeded to ask in a small and quick voice, “Doyouwanttosleepinheretonight?”

 

Phil couldn’t help but giggle at how Dan tried to cover up his yawn half way through it, as it was late and Phil was tired as well. He wasn’t sure how long Dan wanted him to stay there until he asked the question, to which Phil nodded. “Sure, um, do you want me to sleep on the floor?” he asked hesitantly, knowing Dan must want him to. Because this was Dan’s bed, and Phil couldn’t sleep there, unless Dan didn’t mind them sleeping in the same bed. Which, Phil didn’t, but it was really about what Dan wanted.

 

Dan’s eyes widened and he couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at Phil’s assumption. “Fuck, no, why would I do that?” he giggled. Phil smiled hesitantly along with him and Dan shuffled his feet so he could get under the blanket. “Stay up here, there’s plenty of room, you know. And it’s not like I have a disease,” he informed Phil, “other than cooties.” Phil giggled at him and Dan grinned back, deceptively leaning forward and placing his hands on Phil’s upper-stomach, lower-chest, and starting to tickle him.

 

"I know you don’t have a disease, this is just your-" Phil couldn’t finish his sentence before he felt Dan’s hands on his stomach and he started laughing, he tried to push Dan’s hands off but Phil wasn’t one of the strongest people. "Dan, no!" he laughed, his whole body jerking around.

 

Dan grinned cheekily at Phil’s reaction, moving his hands up and down the younger boy’s torso, trying to get him to laugh harder than he was already. At that point, he was trying to push Dan away and almost succeeded before Dan swung a lug over Phil’s small body, pinning him down to the mattress. He jerked around below him, and his face was all red from laughter as he continued to tickle him. “What’s the magic word to make me stop?” he said loud enough for Phil to hear over his own laughter. He was really cute when he was all flustered like that, limbs flailing around and pushing at Dan to try to get him off.

 

"Please, Please!" he chanted between his fits of laughter, his legs kicking and his arms trying to push Dan off but also flailing about. His eyes closed and a smile on his face, "Dan- please!" He repeated.

 

Dan lifted his hands off of Phil’s body, the black-haired boy continuing to giggle faintly after he stopped. “There you go,” he declared, swinging his leg off of Phil and laying in bed next to him. His hand wandered until it found Phil’s again, and their fingers automatically intertwined, and Dan couldn’t help but feel like they were a perfect fit. He leaned over to the bedside table where his lamp was and switched it off, carefully keeping their hands in constant contact, and then lay back down next to the shorter boy. “Night, Phil,” he said quietly, shuffling around in the mass of blankets to keep comfortable.

 

Phil slid under the blankets when Dan went to turn the light off, a small smile forming on his lips when Dan connected their hands again. He hoped Dan didn’t mind him going under the covers, he didn’t think he would. “Night, Dan,” he said back quietly, his head resting gently on the pillow as he closed his eyes. His heart was still thudding quickly from the tickling.

 

After a few minutes, Dan still couldn’t fall asleep, but as Phil’s breathing got less erratic and more regular and soft, Dan knew it to be true that Phil must have fallen asleep. And- damnit, he couldn’t help himself, so he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Phil’s forehead, right where his hairline was. With the peacefulness of that gesture and the warmth of Phil’s small body pressed lightly against his own, Dan closed his eyes and fell into a light, tranquil sleep to the sounds of his friend’s gentle breathing.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the sun beating down on Phil’s eyes that woke him from his sleep, which he didn’t really want to be awoken from. It was the most sleep he’d gotten in the while, and it wasn’t the warmth and presence of another person that shot Phil’s eyes open and made him sit up. Looking around, he found himself in Dan’s room, in his bed, maybe an inch or two away from him. Phil remembered going to sleep in there, but he had no idea what possessed him to say yes to the offer. This was Dan’s room, his bed, Phil didn’t belong in it. And Phil could only picture Dan waking up and regretting having Phil there. As much as Phil loved the warmth of another person, even if Dan’s warmth wasn’t as much as his kind, he felt horrible when he started moving away. He thought if he just made it out of him room and went to the guest room Dan wouldn’t get angry. Phil carefully tried to slide off the bed, one of Dan’s arms falling from where it rested on Phil’s stomach. He was almost completely off the bed before he heard Dan start to move.

When Dan woke up from his deep slumber, he didn’t really remember everything from the night before, he just knew that there was a warm spot beside him and it felt nice. And then he felt the mattress below him shift its weight, which- hey, Phil was sleeping over here, wasn’t he? Was he leaving? His hands automatically were brought up to his face as he rubbed the sleep out of his tired eyes and straighten his back, and his other hand stretched out to grope around thin air, reaching for his friend. “Phil? Phi-il,” he cleared his throat, reaching out in front of him blindly and opening his eyes. When he scanned the room, the door was open and Phil was gone, clearly. Dan pouted and walked falteringly over to the door, peering out into the wooden hallway.

When Dan started to wake up Phil panicked and quickly left the room, he was honestly scared that Dan would get mad that he slept in his room with him. Even if Dan asked, Phil knew that he would have regretted it. He scurried off to the guest room he stayed in the night before, thinking how he cannot fuck up now. He was just convinced to stay and now he didn’t want to leave, so he just couldn’t have Dan angry at him now. Phil was thinking the invitation to sleep in his bed might have been just in the moment, and how Dan might have felt bad because Phil wanted to leave for whatever reason. He climbed up on the guest bed and sat on it, hoping Dan didn’t know Phil had left. Maybe he could think that Phil left in the middle of the night or something. But that was just a hope.

Dan didn’t see Phil in the hallway. Maybe he left in the middle of the night; maybe he was nervous because Dan came on too strong? It didn’t seem so likely, though, because Phil was so self-conscious about everything and if he left in the night then he probably would have closed the door and made the bed behind him, Dan giggled. He walked over to the guest bedroom a few doors down and knocked lightly on it, shivering a bit from the lack of sufficient clothes. “Phil?” Dan called softly into the door, pressing his ear to the wood on the front and waiting for a response.

Phil heard the knock and froze up, hoping Dan wasn’t going to get mad. “C-Come in,” he stuttered out, holding his tail out of nervousness. He didn’t know why it helped; the petting just calmed him, even more so when someone else did it. Maybe Dan wasn’t mad and Phil as just being nervous, he just really didn’t want to mess up now. Possibly having someone to talk to other them himself made him excited.

Dan smiled to himself as he heard Phil’s scratchy morning voice from inside the room granting permission for him to enter. He clicked open the door, golden handle cold against his palm. Phil was sat on his bed with his new blue pyjamas they’d gotten yesterday, holding his tail from behind him and his hair was mussed up so much that it was hiding his ears. Dan grinned, walking over to the bed and sitting on the side of it. “Why’d you leave? You’re warm, I’m cold, I need heat,” he joked. Phil looked nervous and Dan wondered why. Was he still scared of him?

"I just…I’m sorry for sleeping in your bed. I know you asked me but I should have said no, I know you didn’t want me there, I mean that’s your room and everything, I just wanted to leave before you got mad, I’m sorry," he said, starting to ramble. He didn’t dare look up at Dan; his eyes were trained on his hand playing with the fur on his tail. Dan didn’t seem all that mad, but Phil still felt sorry. He wasn’t so much scared of Dan; he was just scared of fucking up.

The brunette’s eyebrows furrowed as he heard his friend waffle on about how he was sorry. “Don’t be, I asked you to,” he reasoned gently. Dan knew by then that he should probably be pretty gentle with Phil, he seemed like fine china that was on the verge of breaking half the time, and it was adorable but scary, because Dan didn’t want to hurt him accidentally. He knew that his actions and words were somewhat harsh half the time to his friends and family but he’d never really met anyone like Phil ever before. He was soft, and friendly, and he cared about the right things. Dan scootched closer to Phil on the bed, hoping that’d be okay. “If you were not comfortable sleeping in there, ya’ could of told me.”

"It’s not that I wasn’t comfortable, I just thought I didn’t belong there," he said, letting his tail go and having it spring back behind him. "I just don’t want to mess up. I know all the stupid things I do and I’m just trying to be careful," Phil added quietly, looking up only slightly at Dan when he moved closer, not minding the proximity. Phil’s idea of where he belonged was sort of the animal rule: stay off the furniture, don’t bug people too much, don’t ask or beg for anything. They were things you would try to teach a pet.

Dan’s expression faltered and he bit his lip as he heard Phil’s words. “You aren’t stupid, you don’t do stupid things,” Dan tried out, hoping to convince him. Everything that Phil did wasn’t stupid; he seemed more considerate than anything else. More considerate than his family, and the maids, definitely his friends and Dan knew that he was more considerate than himself. “I mean- I’ve only known you for a few days, and you seem awesome. I really like being your friend, and I know that it might be difficult, but you should stop being so hard on yourself. You’ve done nothing wrong,” Dan murmured loud enough for Phil to hear. His tail came around and nearly hit Dan in the face, making him giggle and wrap it around his hand. “You’re cute.”

Phil giggled when his tail almost hit Dan, and him continuing to play with it. He couldn’t help but think how Dan called him Phil’s friend, were they friends? Phil didn’t want to say it, because if Dan didn’t think so, he’d seem quickly attached. But it was nice to hear it from Dan. Also the cute part, that just made him blush. He unraveled his tail from Dan’s hand and landed it on his arm, flicking it around. The light contact even made him smile. It was nice that Dan could convince him in few words that he did no wrong, made him feel better about the things he does. The things around Dan at least.

Dan grinned to himself as he watched an expression of relief wash over Phil’s face and features. “Hey, let’s go get some breakfast, yeah?” Phil accompanied Dan downstairs to where they ate breakfast (a delicious pancake meal with sausage on the side) and then, they had the day to themselves. This happened often (since it was winter break) and his father was out to work with some sort of extremely important business job and so Dan found himself in the TV room next to Phil, wondering what they were going to do with their day. At that moment, they had the TV on and it was playing old 1980’s sitcom, which was sort of boring to Dan, but it seemed like Phil was positively engrossed in it. “What’d you want to do today, Phil?”

Phil looked to Dan when he spoke, he shrugged. “Not sure, what do you normally do on your free days?” Phil asked. The things Phil normally did might not be things Dan enjoyed; he would just let Dan pick what they want to do. Phil normally went outdoors and ran into the forest, finding all kinds of stumps, rivers, leaves. It all fascinated Phil, kept him entertained for hours. He just liked exploring, though he could only do this when all of his chores were done and also his brothers’. Phil was always sort of black-mailed into doing his brother’s, also. Phil could see why Dan wouldn’t be interested in doing that, just walking around while Phil inspects each and everything he came across.

Dan smiled at Phil, seeing him caught up in his thoughts was adorable. “Well, sometimes I go out with friends to this arcade place that’s pretty cool. Or we go to someone’s house, and play video games, but I’m not so sure I like the same ones they do,” Dan said softly. “They’re into like… Call of Duty, Skyrim and a bunch of liveaction games that are pretty cool, but they don’t catch my attention as much as some other ones do. Do you like playing video games?” Dan pondered questioningly, tapping his fingers on the beading of the side of the armchair he was sitting in. Phil was sitting in a similar one next to his, both facing the TV in front of them.

"I never got to play video games much, only a couple times at an old friend’s house. It was fun though, the games we played. Sort of like board games but more fun," Phil smiled. His family never really had the money to get video games, not for Phil at least. His brother wouldn’t even let him use his gaming system, he saw it as unfair when he was little but got over it as he grew up, just accepting he would have to find other ways to entertaining himself. "We would play a racing game, I don’t remember what it was called, and I watched him play something with animals but they were piñatas. That one was my favorite."

Dan giggled as he thought back to when he was younger and he played the game that Phil was talking about. “I think you’re thinking of Viva Piñata, I loved that game when I was littler!” he gushed. “Do you want to play it? I think I still have it upstairs, really!” Dan said excitedly, hopping up out of his cushy armchair.

Phil smiled wide and nodded, standing from his chair. “Okay! But I might need some help playing it, I haven’t watched it in a while.” Phil said, watching Dan start to go to the stairs and Phil followed, climbing up the stairs behind Dan, exciting to play the game. Phil remembered liking it because of all the bright colors, and the animals were very cute. There was a cat in the game as well; they didn’t call it a cat though. They didn’t call any animals by their real names; it caught Phil’s attention for some reason.

Dan quickly maneuvered through the hallways to get to the staircase, making sure to be aware that Phil was behind him all the way there. When they got to the stairs, Dan ran up like he usually did, but tried to go a bit slower as Phil wasn’t really used to the heights yet. There were still maids bustling about doing all of their established jobs, but Dan ignored them and their stares; it was odd for him to have a friend over, really, and most of them didn’t know that Phil was there for good, and determined to keep him from running away. Once they got to the third floor, he took Phil by the hand and they walked to his room and Dan showed him the connected room from his own, which was technically called the Game Room, but it didn’t need a title because nobody went in there but Dan. Until now. He went over to a shelf where he stocked his old Xbox game and dug out the game that Phil wanted, walking over to his huge flat-screen and the table under it to keep all the consoles. He slipped the DVD into the Xbox and started it up, handing the Xbox controller to Phil. There were a few bean bags in the room, that were never used except for when Dan used his own purple one, but he motioned for Phil to sit down in his own while he dragged a green one to the center of the room, starting up the game.

When Phil entered the room his eyes widened in shock, it was amazing. He quickly went over to the racks of games, amazed at the quantity. “That’s a lot of games,” he commented, looking over many of them. He turned back and saw Dan putting a disk into the gaming system, but what amazed Phil was that there was more than one kind there. He had many, it was incredible. He stumbled over and sat in the bean bag, which was super soft. Phil wanted to lay on it forever. “Why don’t you spend forever in here?” he asked with a smile, seeing Dan pull another bean bag from the corner of the room and placing it next to Phil.

Phil’s reaction to the room was so adorable; he had to giggle at him as he sat down on the beanbag next to his friend. “This is a sacred place, Phil. It must only been used in moderation, or else it won’t be that special,” he joked, but it was sort of true. He had spent most of his childhood in that room, and only he and his dad (only a couple times) had been there, but he wouldn’t tell Phil that, or else he’d probably go all self-conscious. They started up the game and played a little bit, passing a controller back and forth as it was a single player game. It was wonderful digging up memories of his younger years and how he had gotten so caught up in those games, and Dan could tell Phil was having fun too.

They played for a while, Phil trying to get used to playing and doing as the game said. They made a nice garden if Phil did say so himself, they collected many animals already. Phil got super excited though when the cat species of the game came into play. “Why won’t you come into the garden, I am one of you. My brethren, you must join family,” Phil smiled, trying his hardest to get the damned piñata cat into the imaginary garden.

Dan laughed at Phil’s attempts to get the cat piñata into their little garden. It was quite nice, playing with him and building their little fortress of animals, and there was a fair share of giggles when they had to get them to mate with each other. Overall, Dan thought that it was definitely different but a good sort of different. Phil was unlike anyone he’d ever met or had the chance to speak to, and he was so nice and so funny and it wasn’t even the mean kind of funny like his other friends. “Give me the controller, hey,” Dan boasted, “I can get it, I betcha.”

"I would bring more shame onto my kind of I cannot get my own kind into the garden and you can." Phil chuckled, handing the controller over to Dan to see how he would attempt to get the animal. "It’s like the wonderful patch of land in the middle of nowhere is invisible, but it’s the only patch of green grass, like come on! I would be all over that grass in a heartbeat."

"I can do this," Dan declared confidently. "Cats like milk, okay? Can’t you get milk from the store or something?" It was established, in fact, that there actually was no milk in the store. Phil laughed at him quietly as he handed the controller back to Phil. They kept playing and eventually Phil actually bought a domestic piñata cat, much to Dan’s fake annoyance. They took care of their animals/piñatas all day, and before Dan knew what was happening they heard a loud rapping sound on his door from the other room. Dan tossed the controller over at Phil and scrambled up to his door, opening it just to find one of the older maids, asking them to come down for dinner.

Phil took the controller quickly when Dan scrambled to get up and go answer the door to his bedroom. Maybe he didn’t like people being in this room, which only made Phil feel special in a way. When Dan leaned into the doorway and motioned for Phil to come he stood, he set the controller down on the bean bag and left the room, hopping over and going into Dan’s room where he was stood.

When they got downstairs, Dan’s father was stood in the doorway of the dining room, looking somewhat stressed out. He was wearing his signature suit, which didn’t surprise Dan at all, really. “What’s up?” the brunette asked, peering into the dining room and seeing something that really surprised him- one of his old friends that he didn’t really talk to anymore was sitting there at the opposite side of the table than anyone usually sat at, along with his mother. Dan didn’t really talk to Ian anymore, because he was sort of a douche, and a snoot about his money and how big his house was and all that. Dan’s father nodded at both him and Phil, signaling them to sit down at the table across from Ian and his mother.

Phil didn’t understand why Dan looked a bit frustrated all of a sudden before he walked with Dan into the dining room. There were other people there; people that Phil was sure didn’t live there. He was suddenly scared, what if these people didn’t like his kind? There have been people before that called him names like ‘animal’. He just hoped they were as nice as Dan. Phil really didn’t want to go in there but he had to follow Dan, and he did, sitting next to him at the table. Across from the new faces, he made sure not to look at them for long periods of time or embarrass himself somehow. He hoped he just blended in, which Phil knew he didn’t. He never really could when there was a tail attached to him.

Dan took a deep breath before looking towards his old friend and giving a forced smile. Why’d his father have to invite them over tonight? He thought it’d be a nice dinner and then he could go back to playing games with Phil. “Hi, Ian. Hello, Mrs Hecox. How are you?” he asked politely. He hoped that they would be nice rather than the snooty people that Dan knew them to be, because he wanted Phil to relax. Settling into a new home wasn’t relaxing if new people didn’t accept you.

"Hey." Ian replied simply. "Who’s that guy?"

Phil knew the guy was talking about him, he looked up slightly. “My name is Phil,” he said quietly, feeling bad that he had Dan answer for him all the time. And maybe if he spoke for himself he would be treated as normal. By the simple reactions from Dan, Phil could only think he didn’t like this guy, who Dan called Ian, but if that was a fact and Dan didn’t like him, then why was he over here? It wasn’t really Phil’s business, he was still the guest and he shouldn’t get into it.

Dan cocked his head at Phil, and grinned a bit because he was speaking for himself, that was progress. Then his eyes rested on his ex-friend again, wondering if he’d introduce himself, but he just stared. He seemed to be freaked out by Phil, which was really rude. Dan cleared his throat, and spoke, “Yeah, this is Phil. And Phil, that’s Ian, we were great friends a few years ago.” He didn’t include the fact that Ian was quite prejudiced against other species that weren’t vampires. Ian barely acknowledged him, just flicking his red eyes between the two of them. His mother looked extremely nervous, just staring at a wall and sipping from a glass of red wine that must’ve been provided to her. Dan wondered if there was something else in the wine other than aged grape juice.

Phil nodded, “Good to meet you,” he said, still keeping quiet. He dropped his head again after that, watching his hands. Phil didn’t like the look Ian had given him; he only wished that the other wouldn’t say anything about his discomfort in Phil being there or anything. Phil was trying to withdrawal himself from the room. He would only look up when he saw movement and it was normally Dan. Out of instinct he started playing with his tail, calming himself down a bit.

Dan sniffed and the wished the awkwardness of the room would go away. Usually he’d be talking with Phil, but he felt really uncomfortable when Ian was around him and watching them. Suddenly, the silence was broken, and Ian reasoned quietly, to Dan, “What’s he? Some sort of freak, ey?” He raised an eyebrow in Phil’s direction, and Dan felt anger rising in his chest, feeling like his whole body was on fire. He was the freak here. It’s not like Dan even wanted him there, and he felt so enveloped in anger that his throat felt like it was burning.

”For your information-” Dan started angrily, but he was cut off when he saw his father coming into the room along with the maids and the cook, bringing platters of food with silver covers, as always. Dan’s breathing was heavy and he glared down at the table, feeling anger in every crevice of his being and wishing he could go over to the other side of the room and punch the kid in his face.

Phil shut his eyes when he heard what Ian said. He felt very grateful that Dan was going to stand up for him before being interrupted, but Ian was sort of right. The vampires the humans were the main races, and Phil was one of the indifferent races. Of course, there were others of him, but not enough to match the other races. When the food was served, Phil wasn’t feeling very hungry anymore, but he still nitpicked so he didn’t seem ungrateful to be given the meal.

Dan felt anger bubbling in himself when he knew he couldn’t go and insult Ian, and he felt incredulous. Why did he think he could just go and say harsh things and get away with them? Technically, he was, and when Dan looked over he was smirking down at the table. It made Dan even angrier that his dad and Ian’s mom weren’t doing anything about it, just sitting there and sipping wine and having polite conversation over supper. And Phil wasn’t saying anything either, just pushing around his food on his plate. He stood up hastily, pushing away his plate of food. “Goodbye.” he announced to the table. He grabbed Phil by the hand, which his friend seemed very confused about, and he pulled him towards the stairs, where they ran up to the third floor. He needed to get away from that table, he felt like he was on fire. At first, Phil stumbled, but he seemed to get the notion and began to run with him, and they didn’t stop running until they got to the third floor and into Dan’s room, even though he was sure there were people shouting at them from behind. He didn’t really care all that much. He locked the door behind them and leaned against it, slumping against the wall and sitting down on the floor, panting.

Phil almost tripped when he was pulled, but he steadied himself and began to run with Dan. If he didn’t he was sure he would fall. When they got up to Dan’s room Phil went over and sat on the bed. Catching his breath, he spoke when he did, “Dan, I think you’re in trouble. Why did you do that?” he asked, still shocked at what he did. He was looking down at Dan who was sat on the ground, leaning against his door.

"I hate that guy. I felt mad. I wanted to leave, but not without you," Dan spoke quietly. He looked over at Phil, who looked surprised and a bit nervous. Dan supposed that he should also feel nervous, but all he felt was anger, leftover from all the time when they used to be friends and his friend would make fun of other species but he didn’t think a thing about it. Now that he had Phil, there was a different outlook. It wasn’t good to judge someone by something you’re born with. He stood up and crossed the room, sitting on his bed that Phil was sitting at, and he shut his eyes, trying to get the cloud of anger to diminish. "How can you not be angry at this guy? You don’t even seem a little bit mad."

"I’m not really mad at him, it wasn’t like he was wrong. I am different, and I’m also used to it. It’s not out of the ordinary to be called names or anything, what’s out of the ordinary is your family being so nice." Phil explained, he turned so he was sitting across from Dan. His back leaned on the backboard post. "If these people don’t like my kind there’s not much being angry is going to do about it, it’s how they think and there’s no getting across to them."

"But! People can change, I swear," he tried. He felt pretty worn down, and looking at Phil, he just wanted someone to care more and felt exhausted, so he just spilled. "I’m- We’re not too nice, we’re average. I’m so sorry Phil; I wish people would actually just treat you well. You deserve everyone to be nice to you! I want to punch everyone who was ever mean to you, and they should just fuck off, honestly. I feel like absolute shit when you talk like that," he said forcefully, not caring if Phil was going to be scared by him at the moment. "It’s like- why would you treat someone like that for something they can’t control! It’s absolute rubbish!"

Phil dropped his head when Dan started sounding angry, knowing he didn’t do anything but still feeling sorry. “That’s how the world works, people get picked on all the time for things they can’t control. Not just race. It’s all about how you look, how you act, your sexuality. All those things could be heavily picked on by people, and all I get picked on for is having ears on the top of my head and a tail. On my part that’s pretty lucky. I’m sorry if you don’t like that but it’s how it’s going to be,” he said quietly, keeping his head down. He wished what for Dan wanted, that everyone could just be normal being who they were. But that’s just not how it works, and there was nothing Phil can do to stop that.

Dan blinked; Phil’s words were raw and true. He’d never really gotten picked on or teased so much before, because their school was usually populated with just regular humans or vampires, like him. And on the case of that, none of the humans really focused on vampire features or the other way around, since they were similar. But Dan couldn’t remember if there was a single neko person in his whole school. He felt horribly sorry, then, because… well, he’d been sort of angry and acting out on the whole thing because Ian said one thing he took offence to and it wasn’t even about him. It was about Phil. He must’ve looked like a complete twat, storming from the table on Phil’s behalf and Phil was sitting there okay with all of that. He was calm, and he was wise, and Dan just felt so sorry because he was such a spoilt idiot and Phil could probably see that. His cheeks reddened, and he nodded, grabbing Phil’s hand. If he didn’t know what Dan was initiating by now, then he must have been as idiotic as Dan in at least some departments. So Dan decided to enlighten him. “Phil, I really like you.”

Phil looked up at the words, setting his head on his knees. “Thank you,” he said, even though that wasn’t a proper response to the words. He just knew he wasn’t liked much, and for someone to say they did Phil was thankful. “I like you too, you’re my friend,” he smiled, liking the word on his lips. He’s never really had a friend before, not someone that wasn’t at least a little uncomfortable about his race.

The brunette blinked when Phil responded about liking him back, and his breathing sped up before it was shot down with the ‘you’re my friend.’ He squeezed his eyes shut, and then squeezed Phil’s hand, trying to channel some courage into himself. He’d been courageous and flashy and not afraid to say anything his whole life, so why when he was around Phil? The ebony haired boy just made his words get caught in his throat, and it was even worse that now Phil said that he only liked him as a friend. He’d probably not respond very kindly to him confessing his massive crush, so he just kept those words locked in his throat, and took a deep breath. “I don’t think father’s gonna be up here. He might be a little angry ‘cause we ruined his meal with the guests, but really, fuck, if he wants them so bad, he can just eat with them alone.” Dan glanced toward the window on the far side of his room. “The sun’s going down.”

Phil wouldn’t have assumed Dan meant anything other than liking Phil as a friend, Phil knew no one was big on dating his kind and he was alright with that for now. “If he does get mad at you, you can just say it was my idea I don’t mind.” he said, turning and looking out the window when Dan mentioned the sun doing down, seeing the bright shades of orange and pink. He turned back, liking how Dan’s hand was still in his. Dan’s hand was cold; Phil could only assume the rest of his skin was. It was different from Phil’s warmth; it must feel nice to feel the warmth. Phil knew if he was like Dan he would try and stay as warm as he could.

Dan bit his lip, trying not to be upset because Phil just was so unassuming, he didn’t even question his previous statement of the liking and everything. “I wouldn’t blame something on you that you didn’t do. Sorry for dragging you with me, too, but… I didn’t want to be alone, and I didn’t want to leave you alone.” Phil’s hand was warm in his, which was another thing he liked about Phil (there was a long list); he was warm about 100% of the time. As they leaned next to each other on Dan’s bed, and looked out on the sunset, Dan got an idea. “Phil, Phil! Get on winter clothes.” He stood up, grinning excitedly, and then glanced at Phil who was looking at him like he was crazy. “I have some extras in my closet, come on, we’ve got to be fast.”

Phil nodded and looked for where Dan’s closet was and stood, “Okay,” he said, not sure what Dan had planned but trying to go quickly as Dan wanted. He went into the closet and pulled out snow boots and a heavy coat. Phil would only be excited, were they going outside? Phil hoped so, he loved the outdoors, cold or not. He sat down and put on the boots and slipped the heavy coat on. It was a bit big but Phil could deal. He looked over at Dan to see what he wanted Phil to do next.

Dan smiled like a maniac after zipping up his coat, and led Phil over to the window. The sun was sort of going down more quickly now, since it was winter, but they still had time before it got to the good part. “Are you afraid of heights?” Dan asked, clutching the bottom pane of the window and hoisting it open, for a good enough space. Dan and Phil were both pretty tall but not particularly wide, and the windows in his room weren’t particularly small, so it was a good deal. He’d done this a bunch of times by himself during the summer, but nobody knew, it was a secret place. Nobody knew about it accept for Dan, not his family, not his best friends, just him. There was the little abandoned emergency ladder that his mum had made sure to install when they moved in, even before Dan’d been born. But nobody used it. Nobody cared enough, anyways, and the house was so big that if there were an emergency you could probably go to the next room and it’d be fine there. The railing was rusty and a bit creaky, but through their gloves, he clutched Phil’s hand and led him up the rickety stairs to the rooftop. Once they got there, Dan smiled, seeing its barren expanse again for the first time since summer, and it was with another person for the first time. The slid his hand over the brick railing running over all the sides, and glanced towards the sky. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

Phil climbed behind Dan, upon reaching the top his breath was taken by the view. “It’s beautiful, look at all the colors,” he said, watching the sky, wishing the sun would go down slower so the sky didn’t turn into darkness so quickly. Though looking at the stars was also pretty, the sunset was better in Phil’s opinion. With the coat on it coldness didn’t really get to him, he wondered if it got to Dan. Being cold, does he feel colder? Phil just had a bunch of questions on the race but didn’t want to ask in case he was somehow offensive.

Dan nodded at Phil’s comment about the sky, seemingly infatuated with it. He couldn’t help but smile, it felt nice to share his special spot with Phil. He slid over to the edge and sat down, sliding his feet over the edge and swinging them. He patted the space next to him and soon enough there was a Phil next to him, too. He smiled and shuffled closer to his friend, loving that he could still feel Phil’s warmth from several layers over. “You’re so warm, all the time. You’re like a portable space heater. It’s amazing,” he gushed, holding his friend’s hand through their gloves and looking over and up at the glorious changing colors of the winter sunset.

Phil giggled at the words, wondering if he was warm all the time or the lack of warmth from Dan that caused him to think this. “I’m lucky for that, I hate the cold. But whenever I go to bed being under a blanket is always too hot.” He smiled, swinging his legs over the edge. He liked having someone close to him; it was nice to have someone not mind Phil being close. He leaned his head slightly on Dan’s shoulder as he watched the sky get darker and the pretty colors fade slowly, only to return in the early morning.

Dan yawned as they chatted quietly, realizing that he’d never been so comfortable in the presence of someone other than Phil. He was just so easy to talk to. “It’s dark, I think. No more colors,” he commented, directing his gaze towards the retreating sun. The light was slowly being taken away, and it was also very cold and even if it wasn’t too late, he was sort of tired. He swung his legs back onto the top of the roof, and slid messily to his feet. He helped Phil to his feet, too, and they retreated back to the window, climbing back inside. They undid their winter coats and for a second Dan just laid down on his bed, soaking in the warmth. “Are you going to sleep in here tonight, or back in your room?” Dan sent a silent prayer that Phil’d pick to sleep with him, it was so comfortable and warm and so great in general to have another person beside you when you slept.

Phil was putting the coat back into Dan’s closet when he asked; he hung the coat up and turned. “I mean, I’d like to sleep in here, but this is your bed and I’d just be taking up the space. You don’t want me to sleep in here,” he said, thinking to how Dan said ‘your room’ and not ‘the guest room.’ It really wasn’t Phil’s room, he was just a guest. At least in Phil’s mind he was, but it was nice to know Dan might not think of him as the animal staying in their house until he can find somewhere else to crash.

"Phil, no," Dan frowned, cracking his knuckles and yawning. "I loved sleeping next to you. You’re not a waste of space, you’re a person." Dan bit his lip and walked over to his bathroom, getting his tooth brush out and brushing his teeth. He had the hard kind of brush because his fangs often ripped the soft brushes. He walked over to Phil where he was standing, and wiped his mouth before continuing, "Stop thunkin’ tha’ stuff abou’ yourself," continuing to brush his teeth, which elicited a giggle from his friend.

Phil smiled at the difficulty Dan was having talking with the toothbrush in his mouth. “Well, if you’re okay with it and if it’s no trouble, can I sleep in here?” he asked with a grin. He loved sleeping with Dan as well; it was like a slumber party. Phil rarely had those back home. Which Phil should stop calling home, because he really had no intention of going back. It was weird to think that Dan didn’t really know that, why Phil was there. All he knew was his father found Phil on the pavement freezing and brought him back. Dan didn’t know anything about Phil being abandoned, but Phil didn’t think it would be anything Dan would be interested in.

Dan nodded enthusiastically, giving Phil permission to sleep in his room. After they finished getting ready for bed and brushed their teeth, they laid on Dan’s bed in a similar position as last night, with Dan’s arm wrapped around Phil’s shoulder protectively, but it was also to conserve heat because, damn, it was cold. The lights were off except for the lamplight on his bedside table and Dan stifled a yawn. “Are you tired? I wanna-” Dan yawned again, laughing at himself and how ridiculous he probably sounded. “I wanna play that facts game we were going to a few night ago, when you first came. You know, it could sorta be like the mall one too. Tell me a fact about yourself and I’ll tell you one about me,” he murmured, feeling as though he should be quiet even though they were the only people on the third floor and it hardly mattered. “Sound good?”

"Hmm, alright," Phil said, hearing how sleeping his voice sounded. He was curled up into himself; he felt a slight chill from Dan’s skin on his shoulders. "I’ll go first; when I was little I was very picky about eating. I only ate like two things, which were tuna and chips. Not at the same time, but all other foods seemed gross to me. I grew out of that one, luckily," he said, smiling at the memory. When he was little, meals to him were basically pushing food around on his plate until his mother made him eat it.

Dan laughed lightly at Phil’s fact. “Nothing? Really? Well, at least tuna and chips are good, I suppose. I wouldn’t mind living on that, mmmm,” he joked, and then thought for a few seconds. “Okay, here, how about this one. I had my first girlfriend in year eight, and when we went to the cinema, I accidentally spilled popcorn on her and it got in her hair, and then she dumped me,” he said, giggling a bit at the memory. She was more of a friend than anything, and had forgiven him afterwards, but it was still embarrassing all the same. “Your turn.”

"I’ve never had a girlfriend before." Phil thought aloud, realizing that was a fact about him. "But I mean that was my fault, I didn’t talk to many people." he said, knowing if he included the fact on how no one wanted to date his kind Dan would say something. So Phil just kept that fact to himself. "If people break up with others from something like spilling popcorn I’m doomed," he giggled.

"Oh, geez. I mean, most people aren’t like that. She was a dramatic thirteen-year-old girl who didn’t even really like me anyways," Dan noted. "I’m sure if you opened up to some people you’d make more friendships and relationships," he explained, hoping he wasn’t coming on too strong. It was actually sort of funny how Phil hadn’t seen Dan’s crush yet, it was quite obvious. "Okay, so… Here’s a fact, I’ve only been swimming, like, twice. Water’s sort of scary to me. Its cold and massive bodies of water are terrifying. I feel like going swimming would be more fun if we had a closed off pool or went in a pond or something, but I’ve only ever been to a water resort and the beach, which I purposely stayed at the shore building sandcastles for," he admitted. "That was horrible. There was so much sand everywhere.”

Phil chuckled, “I hate swimming too, and water. It makes my tail all heavy and I have to drag it around until it dries,” he said, agreeing with what Dan said about opening up more but not continuing the conversation on it. “Okay, Urm, I’ve never had my own room before,” he said, back at his old home he would sleep in the living room instead of sharing with his brother. It wasn’t really an option to share; his room was the living room at night. Phil didn’t really mind, the couch was soft and he could watch TV until he fell asleep.

Dan’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s… that’s odd and sort of uncomfortable. I’m sorry for that, Phil,” Dan leaned forward and pecked Phil’s forehead out of impulse, and then mentally smacked himself in the face. He changed the subject quickly, “Okay, next. When my baby fangs came out, I bled for a whole day and cried for a week. I had to eat soft foods for about a month,” he admitted, playing with the fabric on Phil’s pyjamas with his hand that was around his friend’s shoulders. “I was a wimp, basically. I think that was only a year or two back. It hurt like hell.”

Phil grinned to himself at the kiss; he loved being affectionate and getting affection. He didn’t know why it was odd to not have his own room, but Dan grew up always having his own room, having his own floor, basically. Phil could understand why it would seem odd to him. Phil winced when Dan started talking about his fangs, “That sounds like it hurt, if I had them I feel like I would cut my fingers all the time from trying to touch them,” he smiled.

Dan nodded, grinning, “I’ve cut my fingers when I was younger and tried biting everything and everyone I saw, and I sucked on my fingers a lot unlike other children of my age. I think I have a couple scars, actually,” he reasoned, spreading out his finger and nodding to his pointer. There were a few white spots of skin that dipped down and white scratches down his hands. Phil ran his fingers down them. “Yeah, you should have seen dad, when I was about six years old and I sucked on my thumb. ‘DAN! GET YOUR DAMN FINGERS OUTTA YOUR MOUTH!’” He giggled.

Phil giggled, he could picture little Dan getting hurt on his own teeth. “Okay, my turn. When I was little I used to chase my tail around, like puppies do when they’re growing. I knew it was a part of me, I knew it wasn’t an animal or something. But sometimes I would notice it out of the corner of my eye and I just spun around.” He smiled, remembering the trouble he caused while doing this. He sometimes would fall over from just the spinning.

Dan laughed at his friend’s story. “I can imagine a small you being all infatuated with your own tail. That’s really cute,” he commented. “Okay, here’s a thing, I suppose. I… I guess you might know this already, but I like drawing. I don’t know. It’s pretty cool, you know?” he asked rhetorically. He leaned over to his nightstand and opened the drawer on it messily, pulling out one of his notebooks. “I never did find that notebook I lost the day you came, but that’s okay. It was probably some sort of holy exchange.” He flipped through the pages of the notebook, which were mostly doodles. All the pages were filled up, right to the very last one. “I’m not too good at drawing realistically, so I like just doodling. Okay, your turn, and I think we should go to bed after that,” he yawned.

Phil tiredly looked at the pages as Dan flipped though, “There better than anything I could do, they’re wonderful,” he said with a small smile, looking back up at Dan when he put the notebook back. “I remember you were thinking I took it, you were really mad,” he chuckled, starting to think of a fact about himself. He couldn’t help but think about how Dan didn’t know why he was there in the first place. Phil could only think it was fair to tell him, Dan told Phil about his mother and that was a sort of personal thing. And Phil appreciated Dan telling him that. “Okay, I guess this is kind of a fact. But I was thinking and you don’t really know why I was outside when your dad found me, and I guess it is something I should explain,” he said, taking a deep breath and looking up at Dan. “I’m not completely sure, but I mean I can only assume that I was meant to be abandoned. I was shopping with my mum, and next thing I knew he was gone. It wasn’t like I was running all over the place or anything; I was sticking by her side. But then she was nowhere to be found, I wasn’t sure where I was either. All I could do was wait, hoping she came back. I guess I passed out, because I remember sitting and waiting and then I woke up in your house. That’s why I said I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” he explained, his voice getting quieter as he spoke about the story.

Dan’s eyes shut and his grip tightened around Phil’s body as he told the story. “I’m really, really sorry, Phil,” he apologized sincerely. He had thought a bit about where Phil had come from, but it didn’t really piece together in his mind like that. He squeezed Phil’s small body and nodded. “I knew that you were away from your family and that you didn’t want to go back, but I never thought of it that way. I didn’t know. I’m really sorry,” he murmured quietly, being gentle with his words but trying to sound sincere, because he really was. Why didn’t he think of that before? He was a selfish twit, that’s what Dan was.

"It’s alright, I was kind of expecting it anyways," he said, his voice now quiet, almost whispering. He felt Dan pull him closer and hold him tightly; Phil’s head was lightly leaned on Dan’s chest. "I’m not sure how long I’ll be allowed to stay here, and what will happen when school starts up again. But however long I’m allowed to stay, I’ll be thankful. And when I have to leave I might just have to find my way back because I can’t stay on the streets, I can’t, I can’t.” he said, shutting his eyes. He knew that others weren’t as nice as Dan, and he could easily get killed.

"We’re not going to kick you out, Phil," Dan said, a tremor in his voice because all these thoughts and the volume of Phil’s voice was getting to him. "My dad would never do that, he’s the ruler of this house. And… I wouldn’t let him let you go, anyways," Dan smiled, not continuing because he was tired and sleepy and he just wanted to go to sleep despite all the thoughts Phil was providing. "Let’s go to sleep, yeah?" he said, kissing the top of Phil’s hair lightly again and turning the light off. He drifted into a comfortable sleep, cuddled around his friend.

They didn’t talk about that night much, Dan didn’t bring up what Phil said about his situation and Phil was back to his cheery self the next morning. It was better than the first time he woke up in Dan’s bed. The next couple of Days went by normally, they both would play video games or Phil would drag Dan outside in the cold to explore a bit until Phil felt like he was freezing. What was out of the ordinary was one morning Phil was awoken by yelling, which never happened before. Curious about what the noise was about he got out of bed and quietly left the room, walking over to the railing that looked over the other floors. He sat down and looked over the edge, in the entry way he saw Dan and his father. Dan seemed to still be in his PJs; Phil wondered when he woke up. He listened in, knowing the yelling made him a bit on edge but wanting to know what was happening.

Dan woke up at the sun streaming through the window onto his face. He rubbed his eyes and decided to go downstairs, not to wake up Phil because it was still pretty early, and if he hadn’t woken up yet, then Dan wouldn’t wake him up, not at 7am. He made his way downstairs, but when he came to the main floor, he heard an engine from the driveway of a vehicle that wasn’t usually there. He glanced out the window. It was a disposal truck. Why did they need disposal? Today? He heard his father in the entryway of the house so he strode over there. His father was ordering around some workers in white cleaning suits, unlike the ones their maids wore, which were just regular clothes with aprons and sorts, and they were standing around staring at the disposal people carrying things out. Dan’s eyebrows furrowed; what were they getting rid of? He glanced at a worker who carried a purple vase with fingerprint designs all over it. Dan’s eyes widened. They were getting rid of mum’s stuff.

Phil watched the people take boxes of boxes of stuff out of the house, wondering what was in them. His attention was taken away from the boxes when Dan started walking into Phil’s view, Phil was about to inform Dan of him being awake and go down to see him. But didn’t say a word when he saw the angry look on his face. Why was he angry? Were they his things in the boxes? Phil kept quiet to see what Dan said, it was obvious it was Dan’s first yell that woke Phil up. Dan was walking towards his father, who Phil assumed Dan was mad at.

"What are you DOING?" Dan shouted at the worker carrying the vase. The cleaner froze, looking down at his confusedly, and Dan pried the vase from his grip, holding it close to his chest. He strode over to where his father was, glaring angrily.

His father looked down at him and frowned, barely acknowledging him. “Hi, Daniel. Go get some breakfast, and give that vase back to whoever was holding it.”

Dan’s face contorted with anger. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY ARE YOU GETTING RID OF HER STUFF?” he yelled up at his dad, his toes curling in his fuzzy socks.

His dad shook his head, simply saying, “Daniel, this isn’t your business.”

Dan’s mouth opened with discontent, and absolutely fuming, he responded, “This is SO my business. Why’re you giving away her stuff? DO YOU NOT LOVE HER ANYMORE?”

Phil watched Dan take what looks like an arts and crafts vase, Phil wondered why Dan would be upset about getting rid of things like that until he started yelling at his father, understanding immediately his anger. If he assumed correctly, by Dan’s words to his father, that it was his mother’s stuff. Which Phil understood why Dan was angry, but he couldn’t help but think he must be upset. Phil would be if he was in Dan’s shoes. He wanted to run down the steps and make Dan less angry or upset, but knowing he wouldn’t be able to be with them when they were angry like that. Phil wouldn’t want to get in the middle of the anger.

Dan took deep breathes to try to ease his anger, but the more he looked around and saw more people with furniture and sorts that was /hers/, he got more upset. His dad’s tone of voice got a bit harsher, “Dan, we aren’t going to keep that stuff anymore. Nobody is going to use it.”

Dan panted, “THAT DOESN’T MATTER! You’re just not going to fucking keep it; throw it out like she was never even alive. That repulses me. YOU repulse me.”

His father responded, “Dan, she is dead.” His dad glared right back at him, and for some reason, Dan felt this sense of accomplishment, he was actually acknowledging his anger. But at the same time, there was this burning anger in his chest that felt like the worst thing in the world, like he could run a mile away or kill something or kill his dad, all the same. Running. Killing. He could do that. The truck was already retreating, so Dan just shot a look back at his father and ran upstairs as fast as he could, to the third floor, adrenaline running through his veins a million miles per minute. He stored the vase in his closet, being extra careful with it, before putting on lightweight winter clothes and running down the emergency exit, not even bothering to close the window. He was going to hunt, for the first time since last year. And it would fantastic.

When he saw Dan start up the steps Phil quickly ran into his room, shutting the door behind him and going onto the bed. Dan must have not heard him because he didn’t hear Dan at his door. He thought Dan would just be in his room but he assumed wrong when he saw Dan outside crossing the lawn. Phil wondered where he was going. Or why he was going into the woods. Phil felt sad he was leaving, but decided when Dan came back he was going to try and cheer him up. Dan must just be going to cool off, Phil didn’t think for a second he was going out to hunt.

There was something about being in the woods by yourself in the morning, the cool dew resting on everything, and there was this frost on all of the trees and the ground was frozen- absolute perfect hunting conditions for deer. He knew that lots of animals lived in the woods behind his house, and he knew he could kill them all if he wanted to, but that’d take a lot of time, and he didn’t really have appetite for it. He wasn’t really even hungry, he just wanted to kill something, see the blood drain out of it and see the life go away from its eyes. It was going to happen anyways to all of those little, stupid creatures, and it’s not like the other animals wouldn’t come along and take care of the corpse. As Dan looked around carefully and quietly for the grass that’d be bent down where the deer had rested previously, he found his head drifting back to what happened before he’d left. How could his father just give away her stuff like that? He had no right, really.

Phil waited in the guest room for Dan to come back, knowing he didn’t want to roam the house without Dan. And he wanted to be there for Dan’s arrival. Phil hoped he is calmer when he got back. Phil didn’t want to be yelled at; he just wanted to make Dan less angry over the mater, even though he had every right to be. When he got back there going to have a fun day and put everything that happened behind him, Phil couldn’t wait.

There was a spot where the grass was down, and it was in a long grass field, under a tree, and it didn’t have any dew on it so it must’ve been where they slept. It was still quite early in the morning, so the deer couldn’t have been that far away. He tried to make as little noise as possible as he shuffled through the places where the grass was bent more, where the deer must have been. And when he got to a clearing where there was a horde of deer, eating berries off of a berry bush. Dan smiled at his own tracking, it didn’t take much time at all. He sized himself up as much as possible, and decided to go for a doe who looked pretty sizable, but not too powerful that he couldn’t take her. She wasn’t around the larger group, so Dan decided that it was safe to go. He made a growling noise, but didn’t go in just yet. Some of the does took the smaller, younger deer with them out of the clearing, and that was when Dan took a few heavy steps towards the doe he was focusing on. Most of the deer fled, even the big bucks, which Dan wasn’t particularly interested in. He took a pounce at her throat, and she stayed mostly still and quiet as Dan sunk his teeth and fangs into her neck and tore out, ripping her vocal chords and breathing passage out. Dan barely wiped his mouth as he watched her choke to death on her blood, spilling onto the grass around them. She stilled, and Dan decided that it would be alright to go back to the house, then.

Phil stayed in the room until he heard a loud closing of a door. Hoping it was the main door, he rushed out of the room and started down the stairs. “Dan? Is that you? Guess what I have planned today? It’s going to be amazin-” He cut himself off by looking up when he was almost down the stairs. The sight almost made him faint. Dan mouth and shirt were covered in blood. Phil in the first place couldn’t stand the sight of blood. It made him feel dizzy, but Dan was completely covered in it. It almost made him barf. His fangs were in full show and were smudged with the dark liquid. It made Phil feel terrified. If Dan could get covered in the little amount of time he was out what could he do to Phil? His legs quickly started him back up the stairs, his head pounding from the sight of blood and just the idea of him being this scared of Dan. He ran as fast as he could up the steps, hearing callings from Dan behind him. He scrambled to get into the guest room and locked the door behind him, falling to the ground quickly. He was more scared then he was the first time he awoke in the home. It was the first time Phil saw Dan in his race, Phil always saw him as a human. Not as scary and efficiently not going to hurt him. But now, he was deadly and scary and Phil was terrified.


	6. Chapter 6

Dan took deep breaths to calm himself, after he saw Phil’s panicked face when he caught sight of him, he was feeling a bit afraid of himself as well. And, oh God, Phil hadn’t seem him hunt before. He was probably thinking… was Phil thinking he actually killed a person? He was a vampire, but he wasn’t that vicious. He curled his toes and followed Phil up the winding staircase to the floor above, and above, and above. Phil was nowhere to be seen, and Dan just felt like apologizing a million times over because he hadn’t meant to scare him- no, he really hadn’t. Forgetting he had so much blood covering his face and clothes, he ran up the steps and across the hallway to Phil’s room, knocking on the door and not really hearing anything, but knowing that Phil must be there. “Phil? PHIL! I know you’re in there.”

The words only made Phil for afraid, somehow he knew Dan wouldn’t hurt him but the sight of him covered in blood just brought out what he really was. Phil was never one to judge on race or anything of the sort, but he could only picture Dan pulling someone apart and drinking them. Which was something he has probably done, or at least what Phil thought. Phil needed to get out of here. He stood quickly and went into the closet of the guest room. It was mostly empty but the old shoes and jacket he was wearing when he came into the house. He thought the family would just return the clothes they bought him. He panickedly put the shoes and jacket on. Remembering what Dan said about his mother installing the fire escapes, as he predicted there was a rusty ladder outside of the window. He opened and slid himself outside and down the ladder, only hoping Dan didn’t know his idea and go outside to get him. Phil thought of himself as a fast runner but Dan could probably go faster then him if he wanted to. He wasn’t scared of heights but when he reached the ground he shakily let his breath out. He started to run in no general direction, just down the long driveway that went out onto the street with some other large houses. But nothing compared to Dan’s. He knew it was awful of him to leave, but he was scared out of his mind. It wasn’t like he was a big deal, he’s only been there about a week.

”Phil? Phil! I know I’ve scared you, but I swear it was an accident. Please let me in, I’ll explain things!” he pleaded through the door. He somehow knew that Phil wasn’t going to let him in, but Dan was stubborn, and he’d been living in the house for his whole life. He ran to his room, grabbed a clothes pin from his dresser and bent it with his strong teeth, remembering the blood in his mouth for a second as the pin was red when it came out. He shook his head, trying to clear it as he clicked open the door and looked inside. Phil wasn’t there. The window wasn’t open, and Dan doubted he would be able to climb down on his own anyways, and there wasn’t any winter clothing in the room anyways so how would he make an escape plan? “Phil?” he called out uncertainly for the last time before leaving the room to check upstairs if his dad had seen Phil. He was probably somewhere else in the house, calming down from his fright. Yes, that’d be it.

Phil ran until he was far enough down the road to not see the start of the driveway. Slowing down and catching his breath. Upon looking around he noticed he had no idea where he was. It was a nice neighborhood, Phil could only guess he was far from any sort of business. He could only hope he could find a park to stay at. His fright still stayed, and he turned to make sure he didn’t see Dan running up the street to find him. Of course he never saw that, but every few minutes he still checked. Why did he agree to stay there in the first place? He knew he wouldn’t be there long and he would just get attached to staying there, and now he just felt awful for leaving and not leaving some sort of indication he did so. Dan and his father would just find out from Phil not being there. The chill in the air was something Phil is going to have to get used too with his thin, ripped jumper. He’s going to have to get used to a lot of things, because he was sure he never wanted to go back to that house.

The words that Phil had murmured to him a few nights ago echoed in his head as he ran up the stairs. ‘When I have to leave I might just have to find my way back because I can’t stay on the streets, I can’t, I can’t.’ The words scared him, because what if Phil actually did leave? It was unlikely, yet plausible. He could have just gone down the emergency chute. For once in his life, he cursed his mum’s good planning, because if she didn’t install those chutes then Phil wouldn’t have the chance to leave. When he got to the top floor where his dad’s offices and room were, pushing aside bewildered maids, he knocked quickly on his father’s door, panting to catch his breath. His father finally opened the door to his study, looking confused (nobody usually bothered him in his study) but his expression quickly turned to disdain as he looked his son up and down. “Daniel, I thought I told you to stop hunting. And hey! You haven’t apologi-” his dad started, but Dan quickly cut him off.

“Sorry dad, I need help. I don’t know where Phil is.”

Phil was thinking about how he planned what he was going to do when he was kicked out of Dan’s house, he just assumed he wouldn’t live in the cold and would have to swallow his pride and find him way back home. Which he would be doing if he knew where he was, it was just street after street in the freezing cold. Phil wished he put more layers on before he left, something to block the cold out. Though it could be worse, he could be dead right now if it hadn’t been for Dan’s dad. So he felt lucky he was still breathing. Even if he overreacted with leaving he still felt afraid, maybe even being in their house he should have kept his guard up. He should have felt scared while staying there, he knew he was going to pay for it when he wasn’t scared after the first day.

”What do you mean?” Dan’s dad questioned, looking frustrated that Dan disturbed him and a bit annoyed that he still hadn’t given a proper apology for storming off earlier.

Dan bit his lip and continued, “Phil is gone. I don’t know where he is.” His father’s eyes were downcast, but he didn’t get a response. “Well? Are you going to help me look for him or are you going to just stand there?” Dan asked, his voice laced with fear and anger, his dad wasn’t doing anything, he didn’t even look like he cared. He started backing away from the room, murmuring to himself about getting Phil himself, but his father caught him by the shoulder.

He announced, “Dan. I know you cared about the boy. That’s good for you, you don’t have too many friends nowadays. But… Phil was just staying here for until he could go back home. He’s probably halfway there by now, honestly. But he’ll be home. This isn’t his home.”

Phil felt so relieved when he came upon a small park, knowing it was still day but thinking he wouldn’t find anywhere else to stay if he kept walking. He walked onto the grass and sat on the bench, pulling his legs up and placing his head on his knees. He wished he knew where he was, he could at least go back to his house and hope they took him back. Maybe they would pity him, or be surprised he was still alive. They probably expect him dead, which only made Phil upset on how they didn’t care if he was dead or not. The only people in the world that are meant to love him didn’t and now he had no where to go and would probably die out there like he should have a week ago. He would probably be forgotten by Dan and his father soon enough. The thought of being remembered by no one really struck a cord, he would die and no one would know it or care.

Dan’s face twisted up and he wrenched his dad’s strong hands off of his shoulders. “How do you not care about anyone anymore? You only care about work, and money, and you try to care about me but you don’t, you know you don’t, and no amount of money is going to prove me otherwise,” he spat. He knew his words were harsh, but they were true, oh so true, and his father needed to hear the truth. His dad had a shocked expression on his features. “And you… you cared about her, but when she died, you didn’t know how to cope anymore. Phil was like her, you wanted him on your trophy case to remind you of her but you didn’t know how to handle him once he’d actually been in our house! You don’t care, father, you don’t care about Phil and you don’t care about me and you don’t care about mum, not anymore.” With those words, he spun on his heel and began downstairs, asking anyone and everyone if they’d seen a boy with cat ears and a black tail.

Phil didn’t want to cry. He didn’t when he was left, he didn’t when he felt so afraid the first night in Dan’s home, and now he didn’t because he just wanted to be strong about something. But he just couldn’t, he felt so alone and forgotten. Not many people were around, no one went to the park in the middle of winter. But when anyone who came by, Phil just put his head down in his knees. He wanted to go home, he didn’t care if he wasn’t wanted there. He wanted to go back and see his mother and his brother. He wanted to go back and continue to lie to himself about being loved and do everything his mother wanted him to do because he missed it no matter how horrible it sounded. If he turned out fine the next morning he would just continue to walk and find him way somewhere familiar.

Dan ran down the stairs between each floor, shouting at all the maids and cleaners if they’d seen Phil. From what he’d gathered, nobody had seen him since he was downstairs waiting for Dan to get back from his hunting/cool down trip. Dan cringed to himself and went back to the third floor, carefully walking to Phil’s room just as it had been when he’d looked before, and started to lose hope that his friend was still in the building. He looked in the closet, the mini bathroom attached to the room, and under the bed, calling out a steady, “Phil, Phil, Phil?” before coming over to the window, hoping he was right about it not being touched before. The window was closed, but barely, the latch wasn’t tied and it had signs of being messily closed from the outside. It hit him then, the actual possibility of Phil being out there in the cold, making his way back home.

The air started to get colder, and staying in the small park seemed less and less of a smart idea as Phil sat there. He shakily stood, still upset over his situation. He decided to just keep moving, maybe he’ll find his way home if he did that. Sitting in the park wasn’t going to help anything. So he kept moving, taking different turns at the end of the street and looking for anything that seemed familiar. A part of Phil just wished someone noticed him walking in the cold with hand-me-down clothing to keep warm with. Take pity and help him, even though last time turned into a disaster. He just couldn’t stand the cold, he hated it. His normally warm skin must be ice cold my now, so he guessed Dan was wrong with the thing about him always being warm.

Dan scrunched his face up and ran across the hallway, changing out of his bloody hunting clothes and quickly changing into a warm outfit along with a winter coat, quickly grabbing his worn out old navy blue backpack and stuffing it with a blanket. He slipped on a hat and gloves as he ran down the steps to the bottom floor, going over to the kitchen and throwing open the fridge to grab a can of oranges and a can of soup, and a water bottle. He didn’t know how long he’d be out, but it’d be alright to stay prepared, wouldn’t it? Phil couldn’t have gotten too far away, though. The chef yelled at him from the kitchen, asking if he needed anything to eat, but Dan ignored his elder, pulling on his winter boots and throwing his backpack over his shoulder as he opened the door to the midday winter air.

Phil’s arms were wrapped around himself tightly, trying to keep whatever warmth he had left in. Knowing when night came it was going to get colder, he didn’t even want think about it. Walking around didn’t seem to get him anywhere. It was just house after house after house and nothing looked familiar at all. Just a lot of houses he’s never seen before in his life. At least he was out of the rich area, all the houses are not huge and could resemble his old house a bit. But nothing he ever remembers seeing. Phil started to try and plan what he was going to do when night came, he could maybe find another bench or somewhere to sleep. Or find the town and sleep in an alley. But if he never get’s out of the neighborhood he’ll just have to lean on a fence or something.

Dan pulled out his phone from his pocket, quickly opening Yellow Pages and searching for the name ‘Lester’ in the search box. Maybe if he just could find Phil’s address, he could go there, since Phil already said that he was intent on going home if he didn’t stay at their house. God, why was Dan so stupid? It was basically all his fault that Phil had left, and he should feel bad about it, but there was time for that later. At the moment, he was occupied scrolling through a dozen different Lester families and identities, until he came across one that was on the outskirts of Manchester. He started off the driveway before coming to a stop and realizing- he could drive now. Dan had just turned 16 a few weeks ago, and if this wasn’t a good reason to take one of his dad’s snazzy, shiny BMW’s out for a spin, he didn’t know what would be.

Phil was gripping at the thin layer of the coat, trying to keep any warmth he had left in. Every time he heard a car go by or another person he would try to keep his head down and continue walking down the street, hoping he finds some place he recognizes. Without simple things like a phone, finding home was going to be way more difficult. Getting anywhere safe would be a miracle for him. It wasn’t until he heard the sound of a car slowing down near him that he looked up, fearing it was some sort of racist against his kind, which he really didn’t really need right now. But noticing the people in the car that stopped by him didn’t look angry, more caring. “Are you okay?” the person driving the car prompted.

It made Phil realize what he must look like in his situation, he was just walking the streets in the freezing cold with a ripped hand-me-down coat on, adding to the fact his kind is easily more dangerous by themselves on the streets. Phil was hesitant to answer, thinking if it would be better off for him to stay silent and continue walking or to answer the woman. Phil was always taught stranger danger, but in his situation, everything he was taught back at home didn’t matter. “Um, k-kind of,” he stuttered out, slightly from the shivering but mostly of being afraid of speaking.

Dan opened the garage door forcefully, trying to go fast because Phil had left probably near to a half an hour ago, he must be far by now. And he knows where his home is, of course. He hopped into a black convertible that was parked conveniently near to the garage door and started up the car, trying to recall everything he’d learned in drivers ed. He kept his phone on the dashboard and had it on a GPS, the destination being Phil’s family’s house. It was only about a half an hour drive, but it scared Dan, because Phil didn’t have a car, so he must have had to walked, and it was freezing outside. The winter had hit Manchester harshly, and anyone was crazy to try to walk 15 miles in that sort of cold.

“Do you need a ride home? It’s too cold to be walking without proper clothing,” the lady said softly, making Phil feel better about the interaction.

“I-If you could take me home that would be nice, I’m not sure how far away it is though. I’m not really sure where I am,” Phil said quietly, looking from the ground to the woman and back.

“It would be no problem, hop in and give me the address. It couldn’t be too far away,” she said, flashing a soft smile at Phil. Making him just go with it and trust her, how much worse could it get? Phil slowly approached the car and shakily opened the door and climbing in. He gave the woman his address, which turned out to be around 15 minutes from where they are, making Phil think he had least got somewhere with the walking. He leaned back in the seat as she began to drove, the car was heated and Phil felt so much better to be out of the cold.

Dan had barely gotten out of the neighborhood when he noticed how the houses were changing so quickly, the rich part of the city was definitely far gone. The houses in this street were more unique and had little quirks, and even if they were quite a bit smaller than the houses Dan was used to, he couldn’t help but be attracted to them because of how cute all the homes looked. There was blue shackles on one and a red painted door, and the roof was oddly slanted on another one but it was fitting. And then he was about five minutes away, pulling to a street that had similar looking houses as the previous ones. The snow on this street wasn’t plowed or even shoveled away, so Dan parked the car on the street next to an empty lot, grabbing his phone with chilled hands and continuing on to Phil’s house, wondering what he would say once he would arrive.

Phil felt suddenly nervous when his house came into view, telling her this was the right place and began thanking her. Mostly for taking him home, but also for not taking him away and killing him in some weird way. After her persisting it was no problem she drove off, making Phil think there was a little hope left in the world. He turned and saw his house, thinking of how he will just walk right in. It wasn’t like his mother ever wanted to see him again. But he couldn’t just stand out there. He walked up to his house, opening the door quickly so he just got it over with and seeing the familiar house. Realizing how much he missed it, but also noticing that there was no one in the living room or the connecting kitchen where his mother usually was. Thanking God for them not being home. They’d just have to come home and see Phil is here. Maybe they’d just kick him out, but at least he was home once again and safe for the time being.

Dan saw the tiny map on his phone conveying that he was getting closer to Phil’s house. He walked past a smallish house with a white exterior and a grey shackled top, and his phone blinked that he had arrived at his destination. He exited the app and stuffed his phone is his pocket, and walked up to the steps of the porch. Gaining confidence and adrenaline, he took a few deep breaths before walking up to the front door and ringing the small doorbell on the left hand side. It seemed like at least someone was home, because there was some lights turned on in the downstairs. He waited patiently for an answer before he heard a shuffle from the other side of the walls and then there was click as the door unlocked and opened, and then Phil’s face peaked out at him, looking confused. Dan gave a hesitant wave of the hand, not sure how to greet his friend.

Phil jumped when he heard the doorbell, knowing it couldn’t be his mother or brother as they would just walk in. He stood and went over to the door, carefully opening it and very surprised and confused upon seeing Dan. Remembering why he left in the first place and quickly shutting the door, but feeling it not shut as he assumed Dan shoved his foot in the door. “Please don’t hurt me, I’m sorry for running away but please,” he whimpered, continuing to push the door even though it wouldn’t shut.

Dan’s foot shut in the door and he yelped as he listed to Phil’s begging. “No, no! Phil, please don’t feel scared, I would never hurt you in a billion years,” Dan reasoned hastily, feeling horrible as he looked down at Phil’s horrified face. When he saw Dan in the entry room at home, he must have felt like Dan was going to murder him or something. He shuddered at the thought, and looked again at Phil’s scared and hesitant expression, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets. “Would you like to let me in? I’ve got some shit to explain, and it’s freezing out here.”

Phil was breathing deeply, trying to slow down his heart. He listened to Dan, and already trusted Dan wouldn’t hurt him. Or maybe he just wanted to think Dan would never hurt him. He took his weight off the door, opening it as he stood. “My mum isnt here, if she get’s back and see’s you or me you won’t want to be here. Trust me,” Phil said, feeling weird to how Dan was here. At his home. “They dont even know I’m back, and like, you know they don’t want me back,” he continued, feeling happy to see him. Phil thought he might never see him again.

Dan stepped inside the small manor, feeling the protection from the cold in the house and being immediately grateful for it. It wasn’t anything compared to the blast of warmth that his own home gave him when he entered it, but it was something and he was happy for that something. Phil led them over to a sitting room and Dan couldn’t help but count the differences of his home and this house. The ceilings were lower here, and the furniture was worn down instead of being new and modern, like his home. There wasn’t much lighting, but when he sat down in an armchair with patched up fabric covering it, it sank down comfortably, and Dan felt himself relaxing a bit. When he looked over at his friend, Phil was staring at him expectantly. Dan cleared his throat. “Well, I think I should start out with something. I’m a vampire, Phil. And even though we’re intent on not hurting people, like any other decent being, it doesn’t mean I’m automatically not a vampire. I have to have blood to function, and I have natural instincts that I was born with,” Dan spoke, choosing his words carefully. “For example, I’m incredibly good at hunting.”

Phil sat down on the couch next to the chair Dan sat in, turned to him. He listened, and put his head down around half way though it. “That’s why I left, because i saw that you weren’t harmless and I falsely imagined you. But you must understand you were covered, Just the thought of you killing someone. It’s awful,” he muttered, playing with his tail to calm him. Making sure he kept his head down, “I know now I shouldn’t have pictured you human, or anything not harmless,” he said even quieter.

“Humans aren’t harmless, stop saying that, Phil,” Dan said sternly, trying to defend his image. “They do the same thing that I do, they hunt. I’m not going to harm you, or any other person. But especially not you, you’re my friend and believe it or not, I’ve grown quite attached to you.” Dan bit his lip, wondering if Phil thought of him as a friend, too. It seemed that way a couple days back from then, but now Dan thought differently. He took no hesitation to run back to his house, leaving Dan to wander about his home and ask a million different maids if they’d seen his friend. Was he more attached to Phil than what was reciprocated?

Phil flinched when Dan’s voice got stern. “I don’t know much about your kind, if not anything at all. But I’ve been taught to stay away. Be careful around you and try not to speak, which I’ve done most of my life. And when I became friends with you I forgot about that, thinking that like everything my mother taught me, the information to stay away was wrong. But then I saw you completely covered in blood. You looked angry and upset. Which made me run. I don’t know why you’ve grown attached to me. It wasn’t like I was going to be allowed to stay long, I know what I’m like,” Phil said, only looking back up at Dan for a few seconds before looking back down. “I don’t even know why I was allowed to stay in the first place, I’m sorry I came,” he added, feeling horrible for staying in the home. Why he let Dan get attached, it wasn’t like Phil didn’t do the same thing. Dan was his first friend that didn’t mind his race, but he shouldn’t have gotten close with the knowledge of his leaving, knowing it would have to happen sometime.

Dan felt a pulling in his chest, a nervous feeling as Phil voiced his mind about how he was scared of Dan and sorry he had even stayed at his house. Dan shook his head, curling his toes. “You’re forgetting everything we’ve done and everything you’ve told me in the past week. We’re friends, remember? My family would never kick you out. And I know you loved your family too, but you’ve told me about them. Phil, I really care about you and whether you care about me, too, or not, I don’t think you should stay here,” Dan countered hesitantly. “Please don’t be sorry about staying at our house, you’ve affected my everyday life immensely. I wish you’d stay,” he admitted quietly, staring at the wooden coffee table in front of them.

Phil ran his fingers through his fur, calming him greatly. “Why wouldn’t you want me to stay here? I mean, I’m less of a bother if i stayed here. And as much as I don’t belong here, I just can’t help but feel like I’m an inconvenience in your house. I know It’s not the best here, I mean this is basically my bed,” he said, running his hand over the couch. “But it’s better than being annoying around you, I love staying at your home. Sleeping in your bed and playing video games. But that’s where you belong, not me,” he said, looking up and keeping his gaze at Dan. Phil knew if he stayed here, he would either get kicked out or be treated worse than he use to be. But he felt like Dan would really rather him here, out of his hair. He could only think Dan was saying this to not be mean, not really wanting Phil to take him up on his offer.

Dan took a deep breath, stating simply, “Phil, you’re never a bother. You’re my friend, and I’m so glad that my dad took you into our house that one night, because if he didn’t, I wouldn’t have ever met you. And I feel so happy around you, and you make my stomach all fluttery when we hold hands even though you think it’s platonic and honestly it technically is, but Phil, I have this massive crush on you is what I’m trying to say. And I think you’re the coolest person, and I really don’t want you to stay here if you don’t want to.” Dan felt his face getting hot and he raised his hands in reference to the living room. “This house is great. It feels very cozy. But do you think that this is really your home?”

Phil’s face heated up, hearing about Dan having a crush. He must be lying, there was no way he was telling the truth. “This is where I grew up, even if it’s not the nicest here I just feel like you would like me here better,” he said, pulling his legs up and wrapping his arms around them. His head places on his knees. “I love staying with you, it’s really fun and no one cares about what I am. I wish I never had to leave your house, I wish I never had to run from you,” Phil said, flicking his tail behind him. “I don’t want to stay here, I really don’t want to see my brother or mother again but I just don’t want to annoy you.”

Dan dusted off his jeans and smiled at Phil’s words. He stood up, stumbling out of the low and worn chair, and walked to the front of the house where the front door was before looking around the place. It was small, cozy. But there were signs of things that wouldn’t be in an ordinary house. While the living room had fur all over the furniture, down the hallways and to the dining room behind the living room, there wasn’t any sign of any fur. Was Phil only allowed to stay in the living room primarily? Dan shuddered, feeling suffocated in the small area, and took Phil’s hand. Immediately after, he realized that he was wearing a jacket and Phil was not wearing much winter gear, so he unzipped his coat and ushered it onto Phil. Phil gave a little protest before giving in and taking the black, padded jacket. They began out the door before Dan heard something from the driveway, something that wasn’t there before, and that something was a car engine.

Phil was ready to walk out the door and make there way back to Dan’s house when he heard the car, knowing immediately it was his mothers. He started to panic, “No no no,” he kept repeating. He didn’t know what to do, they didn’t have a back door to sneak out of and he had no idea how his mother would react to seeing Phil. He tried to pull Dan back from the door but had no idea where he would go. He heard the front door open and a gasp from his mother. He quickly turned, seeing the people he wished he wouldn’t have to see again. “Philip, what are-” she stopped talking when seeing Dan, knowing quickly of his species. “What have you done coming back, and bringing vermin. Have you done this just to disrespect? You never listen,” she began, Phil knew she wouldn’t admit to leaving Phil.

He quickly let go of Dan’s hand and stood up straight. “I-I’m sorry Mother,” he stuttered out, trying to compose himself. Behind his mother he saw his brother in shock, mostly from Phil being alive he guessed.

Dan’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched who he assumed to be Phil’s mum walk up through the door and watched her reaction, first to Phil and then to himself. She looked horrified and disgusted at Dan, and he knew that she would be looking at his red eyes and the part of his fangs that stuck out of his mouth like a snaggletooth. He felt self conscious as her eyes scanned him, but when she began disciplining Phil, Dan felt a flare of anger in his chest. He reached out and wrenched her shoulder so that she was facing him, and he gave her cold eyes. He could practically feel the fear radiating off of her, but she kept an expression that looked like she was above it all, but Dan was sure that she wasn’t. “And what right do you have, trying to regiment him when you literally dropped him off on the streets? You left him to die,” Dan announced coldly.

Phil watched in fear as Dan walked up to his mother, not daring to move from his spot. “Do not touch me,” she said, pulling from Dan’s grip. “You have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do to my son. He ran off, not my fault he did so. But I shall discipline him however I please,” she reported, Phil could see she was scared by Dan’s aggression in his voice. Phil knew she was lying, Phil made sure to stay close to his mother at all times. He wouldn’t dare wander off, but he knew better than to say anything back to his mother. What if she didn’t let him leave with Dan? What if he was made to stay? Phil didn’t even want to think of it.

Dan glanced towards Phil at his mother’s words. Was she telling the truth, that Phil ran off? Dan doubted so. And it wasn’t like he was going to believe some woman’s words over his friend’s, and he knew that Phil’d said that she wasn’t exactly a fantastic person. He ignored her comment about her refrain from his hand, like he was infected or something. “You know, the reason people make friends is because it’s better to chose the people you are around than to stick with the ones you were unwillingly given.” He ached to get out of this place, and glanced towards the door behind the angry lady. There was a boy in the doorway who looked a bit older than Phil, but was the same height. He had shorter hair and no ears or a tail, and he looked scared by the sight in front of him. He was also blocking the doorway. “I think we should leave.”

"You should leave, you will not be taking my boy anywhere. He is not yours to take," She said, making Phil’s blood run cold. He had to stay? He couldn’t, he hated it here. He wanted to go back home with Dan, play video games all day and go up to his roof and watch the sunset. He didn’t want to stay here, where his bed was an old couch and he was made to do most of the housework. He tried to compose himself, his mother would always make a big deal about when Phil cried. He was used to keeping it in. He was too scared to speak, not wanting to be yelled at further by his mother. But he hated how she was speaking to Dan.

 

“‘He’s not your’s to take’? He’s not really yours to keep, either. You abandoned your son, and you have no right to keep him now,” Dan spoke coldly. He grabbed Phil’s hand and gave his mum an indifferent look before gently pushing his brother out of the way and bursting through the door. Phil stumbled after him and he could hear his mother behind them, but he knew that she wouldn’t be as fast as them. Phil caught up pace and they ran through the brisk air. After being released from that cramped house and let into the cold winter air, even though he only had a hoodie on his top, he felt so free. His hands were intertwined with Phil’s as they ran down the pavement to Dan’s father’s car and hopped in either side, Dan immediately starting the car up and hastily driving down the street away from Phil’s previous home, away from his insistent family and most importantly, away from his vicious mum who was chasing after them down the street. Dan smiled as he looked back from the rear-view mirror and saw her disappearing from their sight. He saw Phil smiling, too. And that meant the world.


	7. Epilogue

Phil woke up to the annoying sound of a alarm, the same alarm he’d been hearing since school started. It was a bit different to go to a different school, this school was nice as well. Dan was also in most of his classes, so he wasn’t completely alone. If anyone tried to mess with him he knew Dan would scare them off. He sat up, feeling Dan’s arm which must have been rested on his chest fall to his lap. He grinned and had to start shaking Dan slightly, knowing the alarm alone wouldn’t wake him. “Dan, you gotta get up. There’s school,” Phil said, his voice still a little rough and tired. Although he’s been getting much more sleep lately, no one is nicely awoken on a school day.

Words didn’t really grace Dan’s ears and mind that well on school day mornings. Of course, it was better recently, because he’d acquired a certain companion to sleep next to him and actually get him out of that sleepy state that the mornings gifted one with, because whenever he really realized he was finally with Phil, it sent electric shocks through his body that proved way more efficient at waking Dan up than an alarm. His brain foggy, Dan sat up next to his best friend and current boyfriend, rubbing his eyelids uselessly into his dead-to-the-world chocolate eyes, before sighing and sitting back on the headboard of his bed. “Why was the phrase ‘good morning’ ever invented in the first place?” Dan asked animatedly, gesturing his hands in exaggeration. “Has there ever been a good morning recorded in history, Phil?”

 

Phil chuckled. “Any morning can be good if you make it good, somewhere out there a good morning must have happened to someone,” he said, tugging the blanket off of him and standing from the bed. Since he’d gone to the new school Phil had been much more excited for it. He always loved to learn, and his old school was anything but nice. But recently, he got to go to the best school (in his opinion), and got to see Dan most of the day. How much better could it get? Though Dan seemed to think otherwise, so naturally, Phil tried to make mornings better. “Now get up grumpy gills, we have a whole day of experiences to live.” Phil smiled.

 

Dan whined as Phil pulled the blanket from the bed, exposing his warm skin to the harsh cold outer air. “It’s too early to be functioning,” Dan argued, but he got up anyways because Phil wasn’t really paying attention, just moving around and getting his stuff together for the morning. Once they had gotten together as a couple, Dan’s father allowed them to share a room but also awkwardly stuffed a box of condoms in the bedside drawer one day while he visited their room. They took Dan’s room because it was bigger, and by that time, Phil’d gotten his stuff in their room as well and was all settled. Dan grudgingly put on pants and a random plaid shirt. He hated mornings, honestly.

 

Phil hopped into some jeans, which needed to be separate from Dan’s, for Phil’s had the hole in the back. Phil didn’t know how he lived before where he wasn’t allowed to cut his pants. He pulled a tee-shirt on, his hair getting messed up in the process. He huffed. “Why is hair always trouble in the mornings, it’s enough you have to keep it normal throughout the day,” Phil said, patting his hair down. He turned and waited for Dan to finish buttoning up his shirt for them to go downstairs.

 

They raced downstairs, Dan glancing down at his watch and reminding Phil that they only had a few minutes. They ate a fantastic (but as always, filling) breakfast, and a maid drove them to school using some routes that Dan’s father wouldn’t dare going to. Dan smiled as they pulled into school, passing by people with Phil that he didn’t know or care about, honestly. They held hands in the hall, which made a few people stare, but Dan couldn’t care less. It just made him happy that he could hold his boyfriend’s hand. In actuality. It was still a wonderful thing to think about. Phil.

 

It wasn’t that Phil was embarrassed to be in a relationship or anything, he just never was the one to start holding hands with Dan and that sort. But it’d always been that way, him being shy. Even around people he knew he could trust. He’d just never been the one to start something. When Dan started showing Phil affection in school it was a big deal. Because Phil assumed Dan didn’t really want anyone to know. For some reason the mixing of the races isn’t something looked nicely upon. So Phil guessed Dan wasn’t going to be that showy, but Phil guessed wrong. They did the same couple stuff Phil’d watched others do in his life. Them never being apart most of the day helped too, Phil only had one class away from Dan. Which he could say is a little boring when he was alone, but it usually went by quick.

 

Dan hated school almost as much as he hated mornings. Phil made them better, just like mornings too, as they had only one class apart from each other, but it wasn’t a big deal or anything. And he finally had a person to be his partner in classes and things and someone he could talk to regularly. The day went by like any other would, and Dan found himself daydreaming about the day when they formally got together and Dan asked Phil if he wanted to be his boyfriend. It was an awkward memory, the day after Dan ditched Phil’s mum, but it was looked upon fondly as it changed so many things in his life for the better.

 

-daydream mode: activate-

 

Phil was standing outside of Dan’s door, he couldn’t say it’s been long but he’s been trying to give himself a pep-talk to knock. “Come on, what’s the worst that can happen? Well, he could not answer, or tell me to go away. But he’s never done that before, but it could still happen,” Phil whispered to himself. He would say his talk was only making him want to hide in the guest room until he had to see Dan at dinner. He decided he would knock lightly and if Dan didn’t hear it he would just go back into the guest room. He proceeded to knock, part of him hoping Dan didn’t hear.

 

It’d been awkward all day and much of yesterday, and it honestly scared Dan a lot. Once they’d gotten home from Phil’s previous house, they talked to Dan’s dad and he welcomed Phil to their family permanently, and after that, there wasn’t many words between them. Dan spent much of the evening and day just on the roof, but at the time when he heard a knock, he was laying in bed, trying to read and get his mind off of things, but he couldn’t really concentrate. And he almost knew it was Phil from the sound of the knocking, because his dad didn’t really knock before he came into rooms and the maids all knocked very firmly like they were trained to do. But the sound at the door was this timid little tapping, and Dan smiled a bit before actually thinking. Was Phil here to tell him he wasn’t really interested? He supposed that would be okay, because he could probably maybe probably get over it, but it would still hurt, and Dan didn’t think he was ready. But he still raised his voice a bit and called to the door, “Come in.”

 

Phil exhaled when he heard Dan say he could come in. Phil wasn’t quite sure why he was so scared, Dan did say he was the one interested. But he could have changed his mind, Phil could understand that. It would seem difficult to date Phil, he was always shy and the difference in races would cause some stir. Phil opened Dan’s door and walked in, shutting it behind him. “Hi,” he said quietly, “I, um, wanted to talk to you.”

 

"Hello," Dan murmured awkwardly, trying to look at Phil’s nose or something because seriously, he didn’t really feel like looking straight at those azure eyes at the moment. "Yeah," he awkwardly climbed out of the little nook he’d made with pillows and sat at the edge of his bed, making space for Phil. "Cm’ere." Phil walked over to where Dan was sitting and took a seat beside him, and Dan’s thoughts were full to the brim and he was as nervous as anyone could ever be. His stomach felt full of butterflies but it wasn’t the good kind of nervous butterflies. He swallowed, and began, "Yeah?", finally looking up into Phil’s eyes, which, strangely, looked just as nervous as how he felt.

 

Phil went and sat criss cross next to Dan, he never looked Dan in the eyes. He felt like a nervous wreck. “I wanted to talk about what you said, the other day in my house. Before my mom came home,” Phil said, not saying what he said directly because there was still the chance he changed his mind about how he felt. “I’m not sure if you still mean what you said and everything and if that’s the case then I can just leave this room and we can pretend I never came in,” he breathed out, quieter than his first words, looking down at the bed.

 

Dan swallowed a big lump in his throat at Phil’s words, and his nervous voice and the hesitance of it all. “I do mean it,” Dan whispered, bringing his hands up to Phil’s face and turning his head so he was looking directly at Dan. His eyes looked afraid and Dan felt that protective instinct that he’d felt ever since he met Phil, but he didn’t know how to reassure him very well. “I really like you, Phil. Do you…” Dan’s voice cracked. “Do you like me too?” he asked hesitantly, keeping eye contact with Phil throughout, even though he felt a 10 on the nervous scale, if that was a thing.

 

"I do," Phil said quietly, his nerves increasing when Dan made him look up. "I just, i know how it is to date my kind and it’s not the best thing in the eyes of others. I know I’ve grown not to care how people look at me but I don’t want them looking at you the same way because of me," he added, wanted to look away or curl up but Dan’s hand on his chin makes him not able to look away. Phil hated the idea of people being horrible to Dan because of him, it still bugged Phil time to time and he’d lived with it his whole life.

 

Dan took a deep breath as Phil said two short words that made his mind spin, Phil liked him back. He, he liked him in return, Phil liked him. But at the other words Phil said, Dan’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t care, Phil. I really don’t care how people look at me.” He smiled at Phil, feeling the elated sort of butterflies in his stomach, feeling like getting up and doing a little dance. He looked at his lap and then at Phil again and took a deep breath, toes wiggling. “Phil, will you be my boyfriend?” he asked quietly, gazing excitedly at Phil’s pale, pretty face.

 

Phil smiled wide, bouncing slightly on his spot on the bed. He nodded, “I would love to,” he said happily, thinking of how well that just went. Nowhere in his mind did he think it would go like this. Not only with Dan but anyone really, he thought he would have to live with not dating and all of that. He can just imagine now the cute things he can do with Dan now, he’s thinking mostly cuddles. Phil loved cuddles and since he started living with Dan he hasn’t gotten much of them.

 

-daydream mode: deactivate-

 

Dan’s head snapped up and out of the memory as one of his friends poked him with a pencil to focus on the lesson. For the rest of the period he only took sloppy notes, his thoughts residing in other places, and he felt as relieved as ever when the bell rung, dismissing the class. He ran to Phil’s locker and waited for him, and kissed him on the cheek when he arrived. The rest of the day flew by as normal, and school and life in general was much better when Phil was with him.

 

Phil walked next to Dan down the sidewalk, they were past the school so Phil didn’t feel nervous to be holding hands. Dan didn’t seem to mind that though, when others glared or even spoke up on some occasion to how they should stick to their own species and such. It got to the point where if someone spoke up about them being gay it was surprising. Guess being gay is lower on the chat as being different species. “I don’t have too much homework so I might not do it until after dinner, which is a nice change. This is so much different than my old school, more work. But it’s not really a bad thing, at least i feel like I’m learning stuff,” Phil said, for a minute not thinking about how he might be talking Dan’s ear off. But Dan having a problem with it was very unlikely, Phil had been told before by the other how he would listen to him for hours if he could. Dan could have just wanted to say something sweet, but it still made Phil smile.

 

Dan smiled at Phil’s words, he was often too nervous to speak about himself too often so it was nice when he did. “Yeah, I’ve got a bit of history homework and some chem,” he replied easily, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand as they walked down the path. Dan liked walking more than driving or having someone pick them up and the weather was getting a bit less cold than usual, so him and Phil had taken up walking home every day which was nice. Dan had always loved the outdoors, and spring was his favorite season by far. “Maybe we could do something else when we get back,” Dan suggested, smirking and raising an eyebrow at Phil.

 

The heat instantly rose from Phil’s cheeks and his ears lower slightly at the embarrassed feeling but they rose again when Phil playfully shoved Dan. This disconnected their hands but Dan only moved a step to the side. Phil felt like a small ant in strength compared to Dan. He could pick Phil up with no trouble and Phil has trouble knocking him off his feet when they’re fooling around. “Shut up,” he said with a chuckle, looking back ahead of them. Spring was very pretty in Dan’s neighborhood, in Phil’s there were always potholes full of dirty water and yellow grass starting to get a tint of green. Dan’s was full of life and everything was colorful, it also didn’t take much convincing to get Dan to go outside with him and just adventure. It was much more fun in Phil’s opinion with all the snow gone and the ability to play outside without putting on layer after layer of clothing.

 

Dan grinned and moved a bit, and when Phil shoved him a bit his smile got wider. Everything sexual was a bit taboo for both of them but Dan was usually the one to joke around about it, but he sometimes secretly hoped that they’d do something, anything. He liked Phil a lot. But he erased these thoughts from his mind as he held his hand out for Phil to grasp again, seeing the smile on the other boy’s lips as his eyes gazed away at blooming trees and bushes and small puddles gathering at the dips in the sidewalk. It was a habit for Dan to stare at Phil those days, because he was so pretty that Dan couldn’t help but look.

 

Phil looked back over at Dan when he took his hand, giving him a smile and looking back at the scenery. As they were walking Phil looking at the sidewalk, sometimes doing small bounces into the tiny puddles. Small ranges of water splash out every time and make Phil giggle. He had no idea why it was so fun to do childish stuff like jump in puddles or run in the park when he and Dan decide they should make the most of the good weather. “Do you think it’s going to rain soon again? I hope so, maybe this time we can go out when it does and run about. Or maybe go out after, it always smells nice after it rains,” Phil said, pulling another smile. Phil may have not noticed himself but he has been speaking much more than before, at least to Dan. To his father he was still quieter, but for much more reason than before. He was dating his son, he needed to make sure not to mess anything up. It would be horrible if his father started to dislike him for whatever reason.

 

Dan smiled and nodded at Phil’s suggestion. “Yeah, that would be fun, I think I checked the weather this morning and it’s supposed to rain tonight. I’d love to kiss you in the rain. It can be like in the mo-vies,” he commented thoughtfully, stretching out the ‘o’. Phil jumped into a puddle and since it was wide enough, Dan giggled as he jumped into it beside Phil, soaking the outside of his sneakers but not really caring a bit. He’d been a lot more carefree and happy since Phil and him had started dating. The cuddles made the nights better, holding hands made his day better and Phil in general made his whole life much better. They continued walking, chatting normally until they reached the house, Dan opening the front door and grinning at Phil. “Ladies first.”

 

Phil did a fake gasp, “I am very, very offended but i will go in anyway,” he replied importantly, entering the house. He removed his hand from Dan’s so he could slide his school bag off and placing it on the bottom of the stairs that lead to the bedrooms and such. Phil was glad to be back, while he loved learning in school there was still a part of him that liked to be lazy and just rest and watch movies. Being able to come back from school to Dan’s house was even better. There was not many moments when they were apart, other than the few classes in school and when one of them would wake up way before the other. Phil thought about this a lot, of how Dan could be sick of him. But he felt like he could never get sick of Dan and he loved being by his side a lot, so Dan must have felt the same.

 

Dan slid his backpack off along with Phil’s, before saying, “Do you want to go upstairs for a bit before it starts raining?” Since Phil nodded, they began the climb up the several flights of stairs that never bothered Dan but Phil had just recently become accustomed to. Once they had gotten upstairs Dan sat down on their bed and sighed over-dramatically. Phil looked at him curiously before sitting down next to Dan and then Dan kissed him passionately before pulling away, seeing that Phil had wide eyes. “Woah there, you look like I just murdered someone,” Dan giggled a bit before his expression got a bit more serious. “Do you want to make out with me?” he asked cautiously, not wanting to do anything Phil didn’t want to do.

 

Phil tried to giggle it off when Dan pointed out the face he must have pulled, he just wasn’t used to it. Being kissed overall wasn’t something Phil did much before he had met Dan. Even small pecks made Phil blush most times but it wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy them. “Um, yeah. I just never have before so, I may not be of any good or I might-” Phil let out a small yelp when Dan kissed him to stopped the rambling. It was a nice way to be shut up, it also did mean a bunch that Dan had asked. Rather than just start, Dan does seem to be cautious with Phil regarding things like this. At first he would ask to hold hands or give small pecks, but after a while Phil assumed Dan realized Phil didn’t mind those things at all. It was still nice to be asked before they start something new. Phil left his thoughts to the side and started kissing him back. He noticed how Dan was taking it slow.

 

Dan smiled against his boyfriend’s lips as Phil began kissing him back and a wave of confidence washed over him as he naturally laced his fingers into Phil’s soft black hair, and the other hand he placed around Phil’s waist. He always felt the need to ask Phil if he was okay with anything because he really didn’t want to do something that made the other boy uncomfortable or do anything that Phil didn’t want to do. The brunette lent back a bit and guided Phil’s body to do the same, eventually having Phil laying back against the pillows and Dan on top of him, straddling Phil’s hips and continuing to kiss Phil fluidly.

 

Phil’s hands were placed in Dan’s neck lightly, the tips of his fingers brushing Dan’s hair. The kiss more calming that he would have originally thought. Phil had been nervous beforehand, never really have done anything like this before he wasn’t sure if he would be any good or if he somehow did the wrong thing. It was comforting to kiss Dan like this, he did trust the other so the nervousness he had before has faded away. The only sounds in the room was their breathing and the breaking and reconnection of their lips.

 

Dan continued to kiss Phil before he heard a noise rattling the roof. He sat up on his bed, grinning down at Phil. “It’s raining. C’mon, our rain coats are in the closet,” he offered, scrambling off of the bed and giving a hand to Phil as they got off their bed, advancing to the closet. Dan put his on, the slippery fabric sliding against his long-sleeved shirt. They put on their rain boots as well, and Dan took Phil’s hand as they walked down the stairs to the ground floor before exiting the house and Dan immediately jumped into a newly-forming puddle.

 

Phil squealed when Dan immediately jumped in a puddle, some water spraying on his rain coat which was bright compared to the now dark rainy sky. The rain was just sprinkling now but in a couple of minutes Phil knew it was going to pour. Clouds didn’t get that dark just for some sprinkles. Phil went and jumped in the puddle Dan did, which swirled with mud when he landed. Phil’s rain coat hood was elevated slightly by his ears being up in happiness, he put his hood down and immediately felt the cold drops fall on his head. “It’s so pretty! Do you think it’s going to thunder later?” Phil asked as he practically bounced with excitement.

 

Dan grinned as he watched Phil bounce around in anticipation, the hood of the bright yellow jacket he was wearing stretched upwards by the pull of his dark ears. The brunette looked up at the sky curiously. “I don’t really know. I hope it does, but only at night, because thunderstorms are nice when you’re falling asleep in my opinion. Do you like them?” he asked Phil curiously. They advanced to the street and laughed at the small dips in the sidewalks and roads that held a bit more water than everything else. Dan barely noticed as the rain got heavier, he could only focus on how adorable Phil looked as he splashed around in the rain.

 

"I love them! They’re really calming, and wherever there is thunder, there must be lighting, which is so pretty," Phil responded excitedly, making his steps large and heavy so the water splashed with every step. "I wish it always rained, it would make everything more soothing," Phil said, quickly catching up with Dan as he walked down to the street. The rain was falling in bigger drops which wet Phil’s hair with every drop, it wasn’t long until his hair and ears were almost soaked while Dan kept his hood on so he kept dry.

 

Dan grinned at Phil as they continued walking. “I wouldn’t mind anything if it rained. I wouldn’t mind anything if it were with you,” Dan replied sweetly, squeezing Phil’s hand tightly. He pulled Phil closer and kissed him on the cheek before Phil pulled him in for a kiss on the lips. And suddenly, Dan felt at home with himself. And he could only hope Phil felt the same.


End file.
